Twelve video clips were taken between 3.50pm and 4.06pm on March 8, 2010 by the same phone that recorded footage of cars driven by Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala allegedly racing along Mdlalose Street in Protea North, Soweto.
Ten were deleted and two remained undeleted. One of the two undeleted videos was 2kb in size and the other 59kb.
That was the preliminary evidence given by much-anticipated digital forensic expert Riana Smalberger at the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Smalberger had been called as part of musician Maarohanye’s defence case.
Maarohanye and Tshabalala are accused of drag racing in the street, and causing the collision that led to the deaths of four schoolchildren and the serious brain injuries sustained by two others.
The pair face charges of murder, attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Before explaining her evidence, Smalberger told the court she had been briefed only by her superiors at security firm SSG Group Pty Ltd about having to extract information from Ntokozo Mahlangu’s E250 Samsung cellphone after she had returned from leave. She hadn’t compiled a full analysis and report of her findings yet because she needed more time to extract data from the cellphone.
“There were 465 data files retrieved from the phone. The number of videos retrieved was 94 – 12 video clips were taken on that day from 3.50pm till 4.06pm,” she said.
“Of those, 10 were deleted from the phone. Two were (left) undeleted. What that will establish is still unclear to me.”
But her limited evidence soon came under intense scrutiny as State prosecutor Raymond Mathenjwa asked: “How does your company cover itself in terms of invading others’ privacy?”
“Our lab has specific protocols and methodologies we adhere to,” she responded.
Initially, Smalberger erred, saying she had found 13 videos, but later corrected her version, saying it was indeed 12.
“You are an expert. We as the court are supposed to rely on you, but you come and give incorrect information to the court. Is this the best we can expect from you?” Mathenjwa asked in a raised voice.
“Sir, I’ve made a mistake… As I have said, this is the first time I have gotten a chance to read the evidence,” she answered sternly.
Magistrate Brian Nemavhidi postponed the case to Monday for Smalberger to complete her report.
The Star