Kimberley - The police official who arrested the former SANDF member charged with murdering his wife at a guest house in Kimberley in 2012, on Tuesday said that the accused had not divulged information to his superior officer in the room where the 27-year-old victim lay dead on the floor.
As the trial of John “Thapelo” Mamogale continued in the Northern Cape High Court, Constable Monnapule Motswenyane said that shortly after three shots had been fired from an R4 rifle, Mamogale had not uttered a word but had in fact only nodded as he handed himself over for arrest.
This was in contradiction to statements taken from Mamogale’s Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), who claimed that the accused had told him in the room of the deceased, Shelley Mamogale, how much he loved his wife, explaining that the two were having marital problems and adding that she had recently been offered a bursary.
While the arresting officer did not refute that this conversation may well have happened shortly after Mamogale’s arrest outside the Boitumelo Jwa Sechaba Guesthouse in Minerva Gardens, he said that it would have been a breach of protocol for him to have allowed such a conversation to take place in a room with a loaded firearm, a suicidal suspect and evidence that was at risk of being contaminated.
“It would be very unprofessional for me to allow a conversation like that while there is a body and firearm in the room,” he explained to the court. “It is absolutely not possible. That conversation could have happened outside... but not in the room.”
Motswenyane said that there were already members of the SAPS on the scene when he arrived on February 5, 2012.
“I removed officers from the door of the room where the accused was and we proceeded with the negotiation process.
“I could only see Mamogale through a mirror that was on the wall because the door itself couldn’t open properly. He was sitting in the room with the barrel of an assault rifle in his mouth and was on his phone the whole time.”
The arresting officer said that the accused was crying and did not respond when he was told that everything would be alright. “I wanted to prevent him from shooting himself or anybody else.”
Motswenyane said that eventually, the RSM arrived and had more success with the negotiations. “Mamogale didn't respond verbally. He just nodded his head and conceded to the requests of the RSM after quite some time.”
During cross-examination, Motswenyane said that the RSM had been called in, in an effort to have someone close to Mamogale involved in the negotiations.
“Before I entered I instructed him (Mamogale) to remove the barrel from his mouth, which he did.
“The RSM told him to leave the rifle on the bed and take two paces backwards. He responded positively, put down the weapon and stood back. The RSM then went inside the room. He saw the deceased on the floor. I have no knowledge of the accused telling the RSM how much he loved his wife but it could have been said on the scene after he was arrested. My primary objective was to secure the firearm and Mamogale.”
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