Kimberley - The man accused of murdering a police officer by stabbing him more than 22 times, needed to use a second knife after the first broke during the alleged fatal attack.
Mzwandile Majozi, 28, is accused of killing an off-duty police officer, Lentswe Mogorosi, in Lerato Park in January this year.
His friend, Mannetjies Plaatjies, will be cross-examined on Thursday morning after the Northern Cape High Court adjourned midway through his testimony on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier this week, relatives in the public gallery could not mask their shock when Plaatjies, 32, said that the accused had told him how he had broken his first knife while robbing Mogorosi but was “luckily” carrying a second as the deceased was stronger than he had thought.
According to Plaatjies, he frequently smoked drugs with Majozi, who had also been accompanied by Mogorosi to his shanty in Lerato Park on two previous occasions.
While testifying on Tuesday afternoon, Plaatjies said that he and the accused were looking for drugs on January 8, when Majozi told him that he had stabbed Mogorosi.
“As we were walking in the direction of Roodepan, I told Mzwandile that I didn’t want to go near the place where I had seen him and the deceased together the night before,” Plaatjies told the court. “I was very tired as I had smoked drugs the whole night without any sleep."
“Mzwandile said that we were just going into the veld because he had lost his ‘skyf’ there the night before.”
Plaatjies said that while they were looking for the drugs, he asked the accused how he had managed to drop the illegal substance.
“He said that he had robbed that other ‘* **s’ in the veld,” Plaatjies continued. “He said the ‘* **s’ was ‘hardegat’ (objectionable) and he just had to stab him.”
Plaatjies said that Majozi had then showed him where he had fought with the deceased, allegedly stabbing him until the first knife broke before pulling out a second knife, which also broke.
“We followed the blood trail because he said the guy was running in the direction of Lerato Park so the drugs must have fallen there. We looked for them but didn’t find them so we went back to Lerato Park.”
Three days after the murder, on January 10, Captain Marcus Mafaro of the Kimberley Organised Crime Unit was interviewing witnesses at Bobo se Plaas when he was approached by Plaatjies.
On Tuesday morning, the investigating officer said that the witness had told him of Majozi’s admission and lead him to the veld where two broken knives were located and recovered before being sent for forensic analysis.
“Plaatjies pointed out the handle of a knife about 300m from where the body was found,” said Mafaro. “The blade was about 135m from where the handle was discovered, in the direction of where the body had been found."
“He then pointed out another blade and handle. Plaatjies informed me that this was the spot where the accused had attacked the deceased the first time.”
Mafaro said that the following day he had accompanied Warrant Officer Pete Motsepe to the shanty that the accused shared with his girlfriend, Betsy Louw.
Motsepe testified that during their visit they were able to uncover a number of items belonging to the deceased including a cellphone, pocketbook, shoes and Polmed medical aid card.
“While I was speaking to the accused, I noticed that he had an open wound on his right thumb and some scratch marks, which he said he got while playing soccer and he did not need medical assistance,” said Motsepe. “The wound looked fresh because there was still dry blood around it.”
Louw also concluded her testimony on Tuesday, when she told the court that her boyfriend had been in a confrontation with Mogorosi.
“He told me that he and the victim went to Roodepan and when they came back they fought in the veld at Lerato Park,” she said.
“I said he must just talk so we can continue with our lives. He said he would do the right thing."
The witness also confirmed that several other cards that were found during the police search of their shanty belonged to her.
The trial will continue in the Northern Cape High Court this morning, when Plaatjies will be cross-examined.