I did not hit Mosweu, says Schutte
The Coligny teenager who died allegedly after being thrown out of a moving bakkie was not assaulted by the men accused of killing him, the North West High Court heard on Wednesday.
Phillip Schutte, one of the men accused of killing Matlhomola Mosweu, said he did not hurt the boy.
Schutte was called in to testify in a murder trial against himself and Pieter Doorewaard. They are accused of throwing out Mosweu of a moving bakkie last year in April after accusing him of stealing sunflower seed.
He said he did not know how Mosweu sustained 23 injuries that the specialist pathologist stated during her report in court.
He said he also did not see the sole key witness, Bonakele Pakisi, and only saw him in March this year during an inspection-in-loco in Coligny.
Pakisi testified that while he was walking on the gravel road between the mielie farm and sunflower farm when he heard gunshots and saw Schutte emerging from the sunflower field.
He also said he saw him throwing Mosweu off the bakkie. Prosecutor Dan Moeketsi asked how and why did Mosweu get injured on his eye, abdomen and on the back?
“I don’t know, I did not hurt him,” Schutte said. He said the boy could have sustain his injuries from falling off the bakkie while they were taking him to the police station. He said on that day they saw two boys stealing sunflower seeds.
According to warrant officer Jeremiah Moremi Modisana who also testified, Schutte told him that before the incident he was doing patrols at Rietvlei farm belonging to his employer Pieter Karsten.
Schutte said the other boy ran away and they then took Mosweu and ordered him to sit in the middle of the loading base as they were taking him to the police station.
While driving towards the curve, Mosweu fell off the bakkie, and they drove a little and returned to see what had happened, he said.
Schutte said they looked for emergency numbers with no luck and asked two people to stay with Mosweu who was lying on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth.
He said they then went to the police station to seek an assistance of an ambulance.
The trial continues today.