Coffin assault case judgment expected shortly

MIDDELBURG: Judgment in the trial of two men accused of assaulting farmworker Victor Mlotshwa and shoving him into a coffin is expected on Friday, in the High Court sitting in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga.

Mlotshwa, his mother Lonea Mlotshwa and many ANC members yesterday appeared to be upbeat about the upcoming judgment in the case.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson were arrested late last year for allegedly assaulting Mlotshwa and pushing him into a coffin.

A video of the incident went viral on social media and sparked outrage as well as making headlines internationally.

The two accused face charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and intimidation.

Presenting closing arguments yesterday, State prosecutor Robert Molokoane told the court that evidence led before the court previously had revealed that Oosthuizen and Jackson had attempted to kill Mlotshwa.

“The accused threatened and took him to the ditch, and that means they had already commenced the attempted murder,” said Molokoane.

“That incident was an attempted murder because Mlotshwa was also assaulted. If you wanted to scare him, why use a coffin? While Mlotshwa was inside the coffin, the court saw in a video how they tried to close the coffin. He would have suffocated and died if they closed the coffin.”

Oosthuizen’s lawyer, advocate Wayne Gibbs, insisted that the accused did not commit attempted murder and they had no intention to kill Mlotshwa.

He said there was a discrepancy between Mlotshwa’s testimony about the nature of the injuries he sustained in the alleged assault and the testimony of his mother, Lonea Mlotshwa.

“Mr Mlotshwa was invited to show the injuries to the court but he refused,” said Gibbs.

“I’ve never heard of a case where people go and fetch a coffin before they murder someone. I submit there is no evidence whatsoever which suggests there was an intention to murder Mr Mlotshwa.”

Mlotshwa and his mother could be seen interacting with ANC leaders inside the packed courtroom.

A group of other ANC and ANC Youth League members sang and danced outside the court, carrying two makeshift coffins with pictures of Oosthuizen and Jackson attached to the tops.