Johannesburg - State prosecutor, advocate Louis Mashiane, spent hours on Monday trying to convince the court his witnesses had enough credibility to secure a guilty verdict in the attempted murder case against Radovan Krejcir and his five co-accused.
But presiding Judge Colin Lamont did not look convinced, and continuously chastised Mashiane for failing to address critical questions during the lengthy trial.
Krejcir, Sandton businessman Desai Luphondo, police officers from the East Rand Organised Crime Unit, Samuel “Saddam” Maropeng, George Nthoroane, Jan Lefu Mofokeng and Jeff Nthoroane, are all on trial at the high court in Joburg.
The six men are believed to have been involved in an incident involving the kidnapping of Bhekithemba Lukhele, whose brother, Bhekisizwe Doctor Nkosi, had allegedly stolen 25kg of crystal meth from Krejcir that was originally set to be sold in Australia.
Lukhele was allegedly burnt with hot water in a bid to force him to reveal his brother’s whereabouts.
Mashiane began his closing arguments on Monday, insisting that the case against all six accused was strong, according to State witnesses, Peter Msimango and Paul Mathabela, who saw the alleged torture and kidnapping.
He said all six men had been placed either at the kidnapping or torture scene, and had been involved in the deal where Nkosi had allegedly been handed a bag containing the drugs.
He said it did not make sense for his witnesses to falsely implicate the six accused, and the defence’s claims of a conspiracy by police officials to keep Krejcir behind bars was absurd.
But as Mashiane continued his argument, Judge Lamont persistently asked why certain key factors, such as the locations of the six accused and their role in the deal, were not properly interrogated when they had taken to the stand.
The judge hinted at minimal intention from the four police officers to actually kill Lukhele after his kidnapping, which meant it would be difficult to convict them of attempted murder.
Mashiane said it made them guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm instead.