Pretoria – Both a judge and the prosecution commented on how a young woman – accused of setting a Grade 12 pupil alight and killing her following a love triangle – showed no emotion while she watched a video where the victim pleaded for her life.
The video was taken on June 18 2015 shortly before Boitumelo Dlamini went up in flames after she was doused with petrol.
It is claimed that Cynthia Mosupi was a scorned lover who was upset with Dlamini as the latter would not leave her boyfriend and father of her child alone. She and her co-accused Sharon Gugu Twala are facing charges of kidnapping and murder.
Both pleaded not guilty and said they only wanted to teach Dlamini a lesson. According to them, someone else had lit a cigarette which caused Dlamini to go up in flames. Her charred body was later discovered in a veld near Klipgat, north of Pretoria.
Their friend Victor Pilane was at the scene during the incident and took a video clip on his cellphone.
This depicted Dlamini crying and pleading for her life, while she was allegedly attacked and held down by the accused, after petrol was poured over her head.
Mosupi took the stand in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria this week, during which she insisted that she only wanted to scare Dlamini.
Asked on Thursday why she cried bitterly the previous day while she gave evidence about what happened, but remained calm when the video was played in court, Mosupi said she tried not to show her emotions.
When it was pointed out to her that Dlamini cried and pleaded for her life on the video clip, Mosupi said she “felt bad about it”.
“I had some water in court to try and calm myself,” she told the court.