Pub killing was premeditated – State

THE NORTHERN Cape High Court will hand down judgment tomorrow in the murder trial of Mkhuseli Mamane, who is accused of stabbing a Kimberley man to death at a local bar.

Mamane is charged with the murder of Bekithemba Mpalweni, who was killed at Capello’s Bar on September 11 last year.

Mamane had admitted to stabbing Mpalweni with a knife but said that the incident happened after he was continuously provoked and threatened by the deceased. He said that the deceased had repeatedly called him a “kwedini”, which refers to an uncircumcised man in isiXhosa,

The State, represented by advocate Keabetswe Ilanga, asked the court to find Mamane guilty on a charge of premeditated murder.

“The accused said that there were previous provocations between him and the deceased. That is not denied. However, time had lapsed before the accused attacked the deceased. The accused went to sit outside and even said that by that time he had gotten past the provocation,” said Ilanga.

“The evidence of the waiter at the bar was that the accused told him that he was waiting for a woman. The accused told the court that he was waiting for a friend. That is not true as he was waiting for the deceased to come past. As REPRESENTED: Mkhuseli

Mamane (centre) with his legal representatives at the Northern Cape High Court yesterday. Picture: Soraya Crowie soon as the deceased walked past the accused attacked him. The deceased at that stage did not make any remarks to the accused. It is premeditated as the accused was angry and waited for the deceased to attack him.”

Ilanga added that testimony from Mamane that the knife belonged to the deceased was not true.

“There is evidence that, after the accused stabbed the deceased, the accused picked up the knife, closed it and put it in his pocket before driving off. The accused’s version that he grabbed the knife from the deceased is unlikely.

“The video showed that the deceased threw the accused in the face with his cellphone. The cellphone was found on the scene and handed to the police by one of the witnesses. The murder weapon was not found on the scene. If the knife did indeed belong to the deceased, why would the accused take it,” asked Ilanga.

Mamane’s representative, advocate Sakkie Nel, said that the accused had acted in self-defence.

“When comparing the video footage, it corroborates the version of the accused and not that of the State. The footage showed the deceased provoking the accused. The State witnesses also said that they did not see the hand of the accused, yet the video footage showed the hand of the deceased in the air,” said Nel.

Nel said that the testimony by the State witnesses was not reliable.

“The waiter testified that the accused hit the deceased on the left side of the mouth. The video showed that the accused hit the deceased on the back. The accused also testified that he hit the deceased on the back.

“The bouncer at the bar said that he saw the accused throwing the cellphone at the accused, yet the waiter, who was closer to the accused and deceased, did not see the phone.

“The witnesses are not lying, but they did make several mistakes in their testimony.”

Nel asked the court to convict the accused on a charge of culpable homicide.

“We submit that the fact that the accused followed and hit the deceased, and hit him from behind, was unlawful. However, if the deceased had pulled out the knife and attacked the accused, then the deceased was the attacker. The accused had to defend himself.

“One also has to look at the sequence of events that took place prior to the incident. The accused thought his life was in danger as he knew the deceased was there with his friends. The accused feared that the deceased and his friends would attack and hurt him, which was the reason he stabbed the deceased five times.

“The accused was fearful and defending himself, but did not plan the incident. We submit that the accused is guilty of culpable homicide and not premeditated murder,” said Nel.

The matter was postponed for judgment.