Witness in murder trial stands firm under pressure

FOR a second consecutive day, the defence tried to poke holes in the testimony of an eye witness to the murder of Naeem Desai.

Yesterday, in the Port Elizabeth High Court, Ferdinand Valentine, 28, was interrogated at length about the sequence of events leading up to, during and after the murder of Desai.

Desai was gunned down outside a Helenvale spaza shop in the early hours of May 12 2016 while delivering bread.

He was robbed of his cellphone, its charger and the day’s takings.

Valentine positively identified Deswin “Boetie Baas” Kleinbooi, 22, and Eston “Gans” Afrikaner, 19, as the assailants. Both men have pleaded not guilty. During his testimony Valentine remained adamant that Afrikaner was the shooter while Kleinbooi and another unidentified man kept guard.

“As I said, I saw his [Gans’s] entire face. At the time he was looking around I saw his face,” Valentine said.

Afrikaner’s defence representative, Peet Schoonraad, told Valentine he found it suspicious that Afrikaner had not seen him standing at the back of the truck, peeking out to see what was happening. “He did not see me,” Valentine said. Valentine told the court he knew Afrikaner after seeing him at least twice at his family home in Gelvandale where Afrikaner and Kleinbooi allegedly bought drugs from his brother.

Schoonraad said his client denied ever seeing Valentine, visiting his family home or even knowing Kleinbooi prior to his arrest.

“They committed the act together, they belong to the same gang and they came together to my family home,” an adamant Valentine said.

Last week, Judge Dayalin Chetty gave permission for Valentine to testify with the assistance of an intermediary as he suffers from diminished mental capacity.

The trial continues.