Court lets Malema lawyer off hook
Farmworkers want Mokwena in jail
Limpopo citrus farmworker Maile Mamokhere, whose left hand is now fitted with a metal plate after being shot by EFF leader Julius Malema’s lawyer Tumi Mokwena, was shocked after the attorney was found not guilty yesterday. Mokwena was found not guilty on all four counts of attempted murder by the Polokwane high court yesterday, much to the despair of the four victims and their families. Speaking to Sowetan after the judgment, Mamokhere said: “I’m [now] incomplete; I have been carrying the steel metal in my hand for the past two years. I can’t work or perform any important task ... Mokwena nearly killed us but he was let go by the court.” He said he was not going to rest “until I see him [Mokwena] in jail”. Prosecutor Johann Kotzee said he would consult with the complainants if they wanted to appeal the outcome.
“At the moment it’s not my call, I will have to wait for the complainants,” he said. Mokwena, who was representing himself in the case, said he was relieved that the matter was now closed. “I had no case to answer to; the state was incompetent and biased as we proved in court. The trial was just a waste of time.” Judge Ephraim Makgoba agreed with Mokwena’s version that he had acted in selfdefence and had no intention to kill anyone. The judge said he found the evidence by four state witnesses to be “dishonest, unreliable and disingenuous”. “There are pictures showing that stones were thrown at Mokwena’s vehicle. Also pictures showing that workers were armed with big sticks and stones. The court cannot accept the version that Mokwena’s life was not in danger.” Farmworkers had challenged this during their testimony, claiming they were not carrying weapons. Mokwena, who was the farm’s managing director, shot and injured four farmworkers – Mageza Mboweni, Tshothwa Kekana, Michael Nyathi and Mamokhere – following a dispute over salaries at Zebediela Citrus Farm Estate near Lebowakgomo in 2017. Mokwena said he shot at one of the farmworkers because he would have wasted his time trying to escape the violent scene. “There was no time; I had to shoot and run. I couldn’t stay in the office …
“He [Mamokhere] was very close to me and kept on approaching me holding a rock in his hand. He kept on saying he is not afraid of the gun.” Mokwena said he had to prove to Mamokhere that he was holding a real firearm. Kotzee, however, insisted that Mokwena’s life was not in danger. “Two witnesses, security guard supervisor Magezi Mboweni and farm general manager Jakobus Sawnepoel, have said before this court that your life was not in danger and nobody carried dangerous weapons.” Communal Property Association (CPA) chairperson Ben Takalo said workers wanted Mokwena removed after he reneged on promises to pay their salaries and find investors.