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MBABANE – “We have been ambushed!”
This was what transpired yesterday at the Mbabane Magistrate Court when the defence attorney of the four men accused of bombing the Standard Bank ATM at the Mbabane Industrial Site was of the view that the Crown had ambushed them.
The Crown, which was represented by Crown Counsel Mncedisi Dlamini, called to the stand a witness, who was purported to have participated during the commission of the bombings, without prior notifying the defence.
Advocate Mduduzi ‘Tsotsi’ Mabila of Mabila Attorneys is working on instruction to represent the four accused persons namely; Lindani Zitha of Nkhaba, who is employed by Eswatini TV, Sicelo Msibi (26), Muziwandile Lukhele (33) and Given Mavuso (19) all from Tjakastard, South Africa.
The quartet appeared before Acting Mbabane Principal Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati. The Crown called Mxolisi Sikhondze to the stand. However, Advocate Mabila stood to object, stating that they were only expecting one Thulani Simelane to take the witness stand as agreed previously.
Advocate Mabila argued that together with his clients, they were told that Simelane would be the witness to be called to the stand yesterday not Sikhondze. Advocate Mabila said they had prepared themselves for Simelane not Sikhondze. He stated that the Crown furnished them with the ‘surprise’ witness’s statement just 30 minutes before the resumption of the court.
He pointed out that such an act by the Crown was not acceptable as it constituted to non-full disclosure by the Crown as such he had no time to prepare for this witness. “Every accused person has a right to prepare themselves in their case,” said Advocate Mabila.
The Crown argued that it was within its jurisdiction to parade any witness they wanted without being told by the accused who and who not to parade and when to do so. However, Advocate Mabila emphasised that it was not a matter of who was being paraded but the long and short of it was the ambush by the Crown.
Tippex
Furthermore, Advocate Mabila lamented on the content of the witness’s statement as some parts of it were hidden with Tippex (a pen correction fluid) which made it difficult to see what was initially written. The advocate said such also constituted to non-full disclosure by the Crown. He said as the defence of the accused person, he had to know every detail of the statement.
The Crown argued that the statement was authentic; they had to close out some details which were cellphone numbers of the witnesses and his mother, whom the witness alleged to have called during the night of the alleged bombings. The witness is alleged to have called his mother to accommodate the accused persons.
The Crown said the numbers were hidden because the witness was allegedly getting threats. Advocate Mabila asked if the alleged threats had been reported to the police, the Crown counsel said he was not sure of that.
Advocate Mabila asked the Crown to furnish him with an original and certified copy of the statement without having anything hidden. The matter was then postponed to next week Monday for continuation of the trial.