‘Silent witness’ crucial in conviction
Murder of sex worker by acclaimed artist in Cape Town seen on CCTV
THE WESTERN Cape High Court has found artist Zwelethu Mthethwa guilty of murder with intent in the form of “dolus eventualis” for the 2013 “vicious assault” of 23-year-old sex worker Nokuphila Kumalo.
Judge Patricia Goliath accepted crucial CCTV footage which captured the kicking and beating of Kumalo in the early hours of April 14 in Ravenscraig Road, Woodstock.
Describing it as a “silent witness”, she said CCTV footage had become crucial in the collection of evidence and the finding of truth in criminal cases.
She said the case had been based largely on circumstantial evidence that she had weighed up “holistically”.
Goliath found that the kicker and the driver of the Porsche 911 Carerra vehicle were the same person. Tracker evidence found that the Porsche, belonging to Mthethwa, had been parked in the road during the six-minute attack.
Goliath said the defence’s attack on the authenticity of the footage could not be accepted. She also rejected evidence from a defence witness, psychiatrist Dr Toviah Zabow, in which he told the court that Mthethwa could not recall the events of that night. She said the accused’s election not to testify rendered Zabow’s evidence of no value.
Forensic pathologist Dr Linda Liebenberg testified during the trial that Kumalo had died of blunt force trauma and had a severe laceration of the liver which led to fatal internal blood loss.
Goliath said Kumalo, a petite woman weighing only 46kg, would not have been able to defend herself.
Members of the Sex Workers Advocacy Task Force (Sweat) who had been protesting outside court earlier yesterday, embraced each other when the verdict was delivered.
Sweat’s Sally Shackleton said: “We are elated with the verdict and believe it’s fair. The outcome is very meaningful to us. We hope this will set a precedent for other cases. We eagerly await sentencing.”
Mthethwa’s bail was revoked.
WE HOPE THIS WILL SET A PRECEDENT FOR OTHER CASES. WE EAGERLY AWAIT SENTENCING