Mob justice witness breaks down
body alight after dousing it with petrol in an apparent mob justice incident.
Ramakoe told the court that he was with Mosebetsi at the time of the incident on December 31, 2016, in Madiba Park.
He broke down after he saw Mosebetsi’s body in the photographs. Acting Judge Sharon Erasmus adjourned to afford the witness some time to calm down.
Ramakoe sat in the witness box for a moment after the court had adjourned but left the courtroom when he broke down and started crying profusely.
When proceedings continued later, the counsel used a piece of paper to cover the part of the picture showing the body of the deceased.
According to the witness, he saw the accused assaulting Mosebetsi as he was not standing far from the scene.
Ramakoe said that although he was not friends with the accused, he knew them as they had worked together.
He stated that he was injured after he was assaulted by the accused prior to the alleged assault on Mosebetsi.
Ramakoe said that he had run to the shanty of Shirley van Wyk, where he found Mosebetsi and Van Wyk, her husband and her sister.
The defence argued that Ramakoe found the courage to face the angry mob outside the shanty, and they assaulted him before allegedly assaulting the deceased.
“You were running away from the people who were assaulting you. However, when the deceased was assaulted, you were brave enough to stand next to him. You were injured yet you stood there. These people were armed with kieries and other weapons, as you claimed, yet you were brave enough to face them,” the defence argued. IN THE DOCK: The accused appeared in the Northern Cape High court yesterday.
Ramakoe said that although he was injured, he could not leave his friend.
Previous testimony by a medical expert, who conducted the postmortem on Mosebetsi, said that the deceased had suffered multiple blunt force wounds and cuts.
The cause of death was said to be strangulation.
According to the medical expert, Mosebetsi had died before his body was set alight.
The trial continues.