Witness in murder trial admits she lied to police

A Gqeberha woman who allegedly witnessed the hit murder of a suspected gang affiliate admitted yesterday that she had lied when she provided a statement to the police about the shooting.

The woman, who is not being named for her own safety, told the Gqeberha high court that when police inquired about the October 1 2020 murder of Basil Prince, she gave them false information.

In her statement, the woman said she had been at Prince’s home in Mistletoe Road, Ext 33, in Bethelsdorp, when two people wearing masks and caps entered the house and fired shots at him before fleeing in a red VW Golf.

However, yesterday, she said she had lied about not being able to identify the suspects or give a description of the vehicle for fear of her and her children’s safety.

Whaldred Cona, 33, and Jason Julius, 21, have pleaded not guilty to Prince’s murder.

He was shot execution-style while seated on a couch at his home.

According to the state, Prince, an alleged gang affiliate, was at home with two women including one of the alleged shooters’ sisters.

It is alleged that at about 5.50pm, Cona arrived at Prince’s house and confronted him about giving a firearm to another man.

After a heated exchange of words, Cona left and returned a short while later with Julius.

According to the indictment, Julius allegedly told Cona to shoot Prince in the presence of his sister.

Julius’s sister, who attempted to flee the house during the shooting, was allegedly forced to sit next to Prince while Cona proceeded to fire more shots at him.

After the shooting, Cona allegedly gave the firearm to Julius to hide before the pair left the house.

Cona was arrested four days later by the police anti-gang unit in Humansdorp.

Julius was arrested on December 4 2020 and was later released on bail, while Cona has remained in custody since his arrest.