Jabulani Wilson Zuma – the son of former president Jacob Zuma – and his co-accused Oupa Jeffrey Mahomane are butting heads in court in the trial involving the robbery and murder that took place on the farm of well-known city businessman Piet Els in 2018.
JABULANI Wilson Zuma – the son of former president Jacob Zuma – and his co-accused Oupa Jeffrey Mahomane are butting heads in court in the trial involving the robbery and murder that took place on the farm of well-known city businessman Piet Els in 2018.
Mahomane, who testified in the Northern Cape High Court this week, said it was a mystery as to how a bag containing goods that were suspected to have been stolen during the robbery had ended up in his possession.
He claimed that he had nothing to do with the robbery and that he was forced to take the bag, against his will.
Valuables including Krugerrands, diamonds, firearms, wrist watches, a cellphone, and a camera, as well as Els’ Mercedes-Benz, were among the items stolen during the robbery.
Zuma meanwhile, through his legal representative, is accusing Mahomane of being involved in the robbery and of downplaying the role he played in the housebreaking.
The seven accused – Zuma, Mahomane, Morapedi Rankali, Montlalentwe Qhautse, Lizbeth Ndlala, Themba Lawrence Maja and Samson Mbokane – are facing charges of murder, house robbery, housebreaking with intent to commit robbery and the unlawful possession of firearms.
Mahomane disputed evidence presented by the State as “multiple lies”, where the prosecution indicated that Zuma had implicated him as playing an integral role in the robbery.
He indicated that he would never put Zuma in danger.
“If it was true, Zuma would never have come to fetch me from the farm. I never worked in Kimberley before, while Zuma advised the police otherwise. It is a big lie that I gave the share of the money to Zuma to divide amongst the accused, as he alleges when Ndlala and Maja didn’t want to divide the money. I never had a pump-action gun as he told the police. Why would I go to Zuma with guns?”
Mahomane stated that he had confronted Zuma about the allegations made against him.
“I asked him why he told these lies about me. Zuma informed me that he does not know about the statement and that it was fabricated by the police. I don’t believe any of the things he said.”
Mahomane said that he had travelled to Kimberley from Nelspruit to “dig for money”, where he and some of the accused had stayed at the home of Amos Ralihlare.
A warrant of arrest was issued for Ralihlare although he has not been apprehended.
Mahomane testified that they had jumped over two fences on the farm and had gained access into the house.
“I followed the unknown men who were going to show us where to dig for the coins. I have never worked in Kimberley before.
“There were men inside the house who were wearing masks so I was not able to identify them. They were speaking Sotho, while one was talking Swazi. The one person who asked the deceased (Els) for the pin to open the safe spoke in English. The lights were switched off and the men were using torches. I was not able to count how many people were inside the house. I saw them carrying a firearm and knives.”
He added that upon entering the house he observed two elderly persons who had been tied up.
“When I saw one of the guys was doing something to the woman, I went there and pushed his hand because I didn’t want him to do anything to her. I thought that he was going to cut her with the okapi knife – that is why I pushed his hand away and asked him what he was doing. I ran away before they opened the safe with a grinder.”
Mahomane indicated that he had left the men inside the house as it was never his intention to commit a robbery
“I called the other accused to wake Zuma so that he could collect me from the farm. I did not call Ralihlare, I don’t have his number. I called the other accused to tell them about the robbery. Upon my return to his house, Ralihlare scolded me for leaving the other men at the farmhouse. The men involved in the robbery brought the bag containing the suspected stolen items.”
He denied receiving any money from “the Sotho guys”.
“The money came from Ralihlare.”
He stated that when they were chased away from Ralihlare’s house he was forced to take the bag.
“Ralihlare was angry when he threw the bag at me. I think it was his way of ensuring the bag moves away from him. He insisted that I should take the bag when I tried to go inside the house to fetch my jacket. He shouted at me that I should take the bag and go.
“I realised that with all the quarrelling and noise, I would get injured so I decided to take the bag and later try to find the owner.”
Mahomane denied giving the stolen cellphone to his girlfriend.
“The phone was in my house. The children must have inserted my SIM card into the cellphone.”
The legal representative for Zuma, Chande Booysen, challenged Mahomane’s testimony as she believed that he had arrived and left with the four assailants that had invaded Els’ house.
“According to cellphone records, Mahomane called Ralihlare on January 24, 2018 at 2.29am. He is attempting to mislead the court regarding his participation in the robbery on the deceased’s farm.
“Zuma disputes that he ever picked Mahomane up on that day when the crime was committed.”
Booysen implied that Mahomane was in cahoots with Ralihlare.
“That is why he called him. Mahomane was greedy and was not happy with his share of the loot. That is why Ralihlare threw the bag with its contents at him.”
She advised the court that Mahomane chose to leave with the bag when he returned to Nelspruit.
“Mahomane’s greed could have led to Zuma, Ndlala and Maja being injured by Ralihlare.”
Senior State prosecutor Hannes Cloete pointed out that Zuma, through his legal representative, was blaming Mahomane for being instrumental in committing the robbery.
“In a statement, Zuma pinpointed Mahomane as the one who had identified the farm where the ‘Paul Kruger’ rands could be obtained.”
Cloete questioned why Mahomane had never reported the robbery to the police.
“He left two elderly people at the mercy of the three robbers.”
Cloete believed it was never his intention to return the bag containing the suspected stolen goods to its rightful owner.
“Four days after the attack, Mahomane inserted his SIM card into the cellphone that was stolen from Els and made use of the phone. Cellphone records show that Els’ phone was active from January 2018 until September 2019. The accused gave his girlfriend, who cannot be found at this stage, the stolen cellphone.”
He pointed out that Mahomane had previously told the court that he had inserted his SIM card into the stolen cellphone to try and locate the owner by means of contacts and photos that were stored on the phone.
“Mahomane is attempting to distance himself from everything while he was involved in the robbery.”
Cloete indicated that the accused had provided information to the police regarding where the other stolen items were stored at the homes of the other accused.
The case continues.
