Investigating officer’s testimony ‘unreliable’

18/4/2013 Thato Kutumela at the Pretoria High Court where is charged with murder. Picture: Etienne Creux

18/4/2013 Thato Kutumela at the Pretoria High Court where is charged with murder. Picture: Etienne Creux

Published Apr 20, 2013

Share

Pretoria - The Pretoria High Court on Friday heard that evidence given by the officer investigating the murder of Zanele Khumalo, allegedly killed by her boyfriend Thato Kutumela, was unreliable as part of his testimony was not documented.

Advocate Anneke van Wyk was referring to the testimony of detective constable Raboya Maboa who claimed he and Kutumela had a conversation about the deceased en route to the hospital where Kutumela’s blood was drawn.

It is alleged that Kutumela killed Khumalo on April 21, 2011 after visiting her at her parents’ Garsfontein home.

She was found by her parents when they returned home from work.

Her naked body was covered with a blanket. She had been strangled and raped.

Maboa told the court he had read Kutumela his rights on April 28, 2011, outside the Lynnwood Bridge Woolworths branch, where Kutumela worked at the time, and explained to him that he would have his blood taken for tests.

He claimed he told Kutumela that “everyone was a suspect, including the family of the deceased”.

Kutumela did not object to having his blood taken, the court heard.

En route to the hospital, Kutumela allegedly told Maboa that Khumalo was his girlfriend and she was five months pregnant with his child.

Maboa said Kutumela told him that he and Khumalo would often meet at the Woolworths branch in Garsfontein.

Maboa testified that Kutumela told him that they met at that Woolworths on the evening prior to her death.

From there, he took a taxi to Mamelodi and they spoke again, on the phone, between 9pm and 10pm. Kutumela told Maboa that they spoke throughout that night, making use of free minutes after midnight.

When asked by Van Wyk if he had documented the conversation which allegedly took place in a police van, in the form of a statement or a diary entry, Maboa said he had not.

Van Wyk said there was no physical evidence before the court to indicate that the conversation took place.

The case will continue on May 27.

Pretoria News

Related Topics: