Johannesburg - A former photographer accused of murdering four of his friends when he shot them in an alleged drunken rage has begged their relatives for forgiveness from the dock.
During the emotional encounter on Wednesday at the High Court sitting in Palm Ridge, Neo Mogotsi was adamant that the bloodbath was not intentional.
He faces a string of charges, including murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, assault with the intention to do grievous harm, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
“I didn’t plan it, it was a mistake,” Mogotsi said as his alleged victims’ loved ones broke down in tears in the public gallery before court got under way.
But his apology fell on deaf ears as the enraged relatives refused to accept it.
Instead, Joseph Molekwa, the father of Magogodi, the only surviving victim of the deadly shoot-out that took place in Midrand more than two years ago, vented his anger at Mogotsi.
“You shot our kids,” he screamed before proceedings.
The heated confrontation was too much for Mary Makgamatha, who lost her two sons, Kgomotso and Sello.
She wept uncontrollably and had to be escorted out of the courtroom by relatives of the other deceased.
“I want him to get a life sentence and rot in jail for what he did,” she told The Star outside the courtroom. She was adamant that the gunman’s actions were premeditated.
Molekwa concurred that Mogotsi should receive the harshest punishment, as his daughter was blind as a result of the attack.
“Justice must be done and he must go to jail for the rest of his life. I can’t forgive him for what he has done. He is Satan.”
When proceedings commenced, the court heard that Mogotsi’s attempt to plead guilty to the mass murders and enter into a plea bargain with the State had fallen through.
Prosecutor Faghre Mohamed told the court that Mogotsi’s proposed guilty plea was inconsistent with the police’s docket and requested that the case go to trial if an agreement wasn’t reached in the interim.
A source close to the investigation told The Star that the defence’s plea bargain was “watered down” and tried to describe the crimes as a mistake committed in a drunken rage.
The source said the State was not satisfied with this and was set on convicting Mogotsi on premeditated murder charges.
The State alleges that in May 2013, Mogotsi was with Magogodi, the Makgamatha brothers, Maria Kobe and Mpho Seloadi at a house in Noordwyk, Midrand.
An argument broke out between Mogotsi and Kobe, and he assaulted her.
Molekwa, Kobe, the Makgamathas and Seloadi allegedly left the house with Mogotsi and drove off with him in his car.
He then stopped the car at a stretch of veld near Crowthorne and fired at the group, killing all but Magogodi.
He loaded the bodies of two of them into his car and left Magogodi and the two others at the scene.
He is also accused of robbing, raping and murdering Lesego Rankapole in 2011.
His trial is expected to begin on October 5.
The Star