Coffin case ruling soon

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, Lonia Mlotshwa, and many ANC members appeared to be upbeat about the upcoming judgment in the case.

Willem Oosthuizen, pictured, and Theo Martins Jackson were arrested late last year after a video of the incident went viral on social media, sparking outrage and making headlines internationally.

The two accused are facing charges for attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and intimidation.

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

“The accused threatened and took Mlotshwa to the ditch, and that means they had already commenced the attempted murder.

“That incident was an attempted murder, because Mlotshwa was also assaulted. If you wanted to scare him, why use a coffin? At the time, 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 the accused had not committed attempted murder and had not intended to kill Mlotshwa.

He cited a discrepancy between Mlotshwa’s testimony about the nature of the injuries he sustained in the alleged assault and the testimony of his mother.

“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 that there is no evidence whatsoever which suggests there was an intention to murder Mr Mlotshwa.” – ANA