Johannesburg - A trial-within-a-trial continued at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s court on Thursday to decide the admissibility of certain evidence in the Rhodes Park murder and rape case.
Edmore Ndlovu was the second accused to take the stand after his co-accused Thabo Nkala, 25, already earlier took the stand with Mduduzi Lawrence Mathibela, 32, also expected to take the stand later, as the three claim they were beaten into making confessions.
All three men claim they were severely assaulted and pressurised into making statements which implicated them in the double murder and rape that took place in Rhodes Park late last year.
The men are on trial on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, rape, and murder. All three have pleaded not guilty. They were allegedly part of a 12-man gang that attacked two couples walking in the park in October last year, forcing the two husbands into a lake where they drowned and sexually assaulting one of the wives and raping the other.
Earlier, Colonel Lilian Ndlovu, who took Ndlovu’s statement, told the court that as part of the procedure she asked the accused if he was assaulted and he had said no.
“He was calm and cooperative, he told me he was not assaulted, it was just the two of us,” she said.
Ndlovu also explained that she and the accused used English and Zulu to communicate. “The accused told me that he understood both languages and I gave him the statement to read and afterwards he told me that he understood.”
While his age was recorded as 23 on the charge sheet, Ndlovu told the court he was actually 26. He also denied that he understood English.
The illegal immigrant from Zimbabwe told the court that he came to South Africa in 2010.
Wearing a Springbok jersey, blue jeans and Nike sneakers, Ndlovu took the stand and surprised the court by answering some of the questions in english before getting interpretation.
“Mr Ndlovu, you said you don’t understand English but you are busy answering without getting interpretation,” said Judge Papi Masopa.
During cross examination, State prosecutor Mutuwa Nengovhela asked Ndlovu if he was taught English in Zimbabwe.
“Yes, but I used to fail,” he replied.
Nengovhela then asked the accused how old his daughter was. Ndlovu struggled to remember the age of his child, to which the prosecutor responded: “Mr Ndlovu, I see you were not only bad at English but you were bad in figures too.”
Ndlovu appeared angry at these remarks.
He told the court that he was drinking on the day of his arrest and ran away when police approached him because he thought they wanted to arrest him for public drinking.
Like his co-accused Nkala, Ndlovu also kept referring to a “JB” and “Howard” as part of the group of police officers who had arrested him. During Nkala’s earlier testimony during the trial-within-a-trial, the court said the officers couldn’t be traced and they seemed to have been fabricated.
Ndlovu continued and said he was arrested by two white and two black males. After they immediately arrested him, they took him to Yeoville where he said he was assaulted.
“They made me to kneel down, JB took out a gun and asked me where he should shoot me. I said on the head.”
Nengovhela continued to question Ndlovu about aspects of his evidence before the matter was adjourned for lunch.
On Tuesday, Masopa dismissed Nkala’s claims that he was assaulted and pressurised into making a confession.
African News Agency