Contradictions in accused’s tales

SINCE the State had not proved the allegation that businessman Rajive Soni and Brian Treasurer had formed a common purpose to kill a prominent Pietermaritzburg doctor, Treasurer should be found not guilty of murder.

That was submitted by attorney Bob Bahadur in the city’s high court yesterday.

Treasurer, a former policeman, and Mfaniseni Nxumalo are standing trial for the murder of Dr Bhavish Sewram in May 2013. Soni has also been charged and his trial starts in two weeks.

The State alleged that the motive for the murder was that the doctor was having an affair with Soni’s wife. Soni allegedly hired Treasurer, who got Nxumalo and another man, Sabelo Dlamini – who pleaded guilty and is serving a 25-year sentence – to assist.

In argument, Bahadur said the State had not proved the allegations about Soni’s involvement. Asked by Judge Anton van Zyl what he should make of it, Bahadur said that since there was no common purpose between Soni and Treasurer to kill Sewram, Nxumalo and Dlamini were the ones involved in the killing and not his client.

For Nxumalo, attorney Di Franklin said that Dlamini, who had testified for the State, was a single accomplice witness. There were three different versions of what happened the night of the murder, by both accused and Dlamini.

Franklin and Bahadur agreed that the evidence of the two main State witnesses should be regarded with caution.

Prosecutor Johan du Toit said the question was whether Dlamini’s evidence, that he had acted with both accused to kill the doctor, should be believed.

“I can’t deny there are contradictions in the evidence of the State and Dlamini… but this does not automatically cause the evidence to be rejected. The court must look at the mosaic of evidence and decide if the State proved its case or not.”

He said the two accused and Dlamini had not disputed that they were driven to the doctor’s surgery by Treasurer. The dispute was who alighted. He said that after the murder, Treasurer called Soni. When questioned, he said he had dialled the number by mistake.

Du Toit said it could not have been accidental if Dlamini and Nxumalo had both told the court of the call.

Treasurer’s version was that he had given Nxumalo and Dlamini a lift to the vicinity of the doctor’s surgery. They got out and told him to wait.

Nxumalo claims he thought the two men were going to the bank. Instead, Treasurer drove to the vicinity of the surgery, took out a firearm, cocked it and handed it to Dlamini, who got out of the vehicle.

Judgment will take place on Thursday.