Times Of Swaziland: VICTOR’S MURDER CASE FULL OF DECEIT - SHONGWE’S LAWYER VICTOR’S MURDER CASE FULL OF DECEIT - SHONGWE’S LAWYER ================================================================================ Kwanele Dlamini on 05/08/2023 08:02:00 MBABANE – Advocate Laurence Hodes yesterday said the court is in a very difficult position on what to accept and believe. The advocate also told the court that the Crown’s case was riddled with deceit. This was during the last day of the trial of Sipho Shongwe, who is accused of killing businessman Victor Gamedze. He was shot in the head twice on Sunday, January 14, 2018, at Ezulwini Galp Filling Station. He was returning from Somhlolo National Stadium to watch a football match between Mbabane Swallows and Manzini Wanderers. Shongwe’s trial was concluded after 50 months since it started on May 28, 2019. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. The trial followed the hearing of his application for bail, which took over a year, before former Judge Sipho Nkosi. The Crown led 49 witnesses in a bid to prove its case while Shongwe called only one witness, Sihle Nkambule, who is a telecommunications forensic expert. The Crown’s witnesses included the pair of Mbuso ‘Ncaza’ Nkosi and Simphiwe ‘Tata’ Ngubane, who gave their evidence as accomplice witnesses. The Crown made its submissions for almost four days, in May 2023 and part of Thursday, August 3, 2023. Shongwe made his submissions for about an hour and a half on Thursday and continued yesterday for slightly over five minutes. Advocate Hodes asked why Gamedze’s killer would go up to him and say ‘we are tired of you Mr Gamedze’, before pulling the trigger. One of the accomplice witnesses, Nkosi, admitted in court to shooting Gamedze. He claimed to have been hired by Shongwe to kill him. Advocate Hodes said the question as to why Gamedze’s killer went up to him and uttered those words was never answered. It was Ananias Khumalo who testified that Gamedze’s killer had uttered those words before shooting him. He said he was standing next to Gamedze at the filling station when he was shot. Rob The advocate also submitted that from the outset, Nkosi and Ngubane wanted the court to believe that they were paid hit men; Nkosi to kill Gamedze while Ngubane was told that they were coming to Eswatini to rob a businessman who always carried millions of Emalangeni in the boot of his car. Advocate Hodes also pointed out that Detective Inspector Patrick Dludlu and Detective Sergeant Patrick Dlamini gave different versions in their evidence on the SIM card holder that was supposedly in the silver grey Toyota Yaris that Nkosi, Ngubane and Sandile ‘Dzodzo’ Zikalala used to flee after Gamedze had been killed. The vehicle was found abandoned at Lundzi. Dludlu said he saw the SIM card holder, receipts from Ezulwini Spar, Eswatini Revenue Service and an LL Swaziland Cleaning Supplies, which he took to his possession from the car. He said the SIM card holder would provide the number which the people who abandoned the car were using. Advocate Hodes said despite the importance of these items, Dludlu had kept them in his possession and handed them to the lead investigator, Senior Superintendent Sikhumbuzo Fakudze.Dludlu told the court that Dlamini examined the car after him on the same day, January 15, 2018. Dludlu told the court that Dlamini refused to photograph the items because he had not found them in the car. On the other hand, Dlamini had told the court that he had photographed the Yaris at 11am on January 15, 2018, which was hours before Dludlu had arrived there. Dludlu was adamant that he was at the scene before Dlamini. Evidence Advocate Hodes said the two officers gave different versions. The advocate further submitted that the Crown relied on the evidence of the Manager of Shield Guest House, Ntomibifuthi Masuku, where the trio of Nkosi, Ngubane and Zikalala were booked on the weekend of Gamedze’s murder. Masuku told the court in her evidence that Nkosi and Ngubane had called her from South Africa (SA), after leaving the guest house, with an intention of sending her to Matsapha Maximum Prison, where Shongwe was being detained. She said she refused to go there because she was afraid of Shongwe. Yesterday Advocate Hodes said that evidence was riddled with deceit. “Nowhere do they say we are the ones who did it and we want to see him to sort out something or we need to talk to him. They gave entirely different versions. The entire version is riddled with deceit in that regard, even if the call took place. What we do have is video footage showing the murder and their movements within Eswatini. So there is no doubt that they are responsible for the murder. The one thing we do not have is objective evidence that puts them together with the accused,” said the advocate. He also submitted that there was not one person who said he saw them (Nkosi, Ngubane, Zikalala and Shongwe) together, probably holding meetings and doing other things. He said there was no evidence of such meetings or an independent who said that was the case. “At the end of the day, the court is in a very difficult position on what to accept and believe in that regard,” the advocate added. Prove He further informed the court that the other factor that the court should take into account was the onus. He said the Crown had the onus to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. That onus, according to the advocate, was not on Shongwe. Regarding the evidence of Thembi Mkhonto, who was at the time employed by MTN Eswatini but is now with MTN SA, and her evidence was challenged by Shongwe’s only witness, Nkambule, after the Crown had closed its case, the advocate said it was nonsensical for the Crown to suggest that the accused had to re-call her (Mkhonto). Nkambule suggested that the evidence of phone calls downloaded from the MTN Eswatini system was contaminated and had been tampered with by one Mlandvo Mamba, who was employed by the mobile phone company. Advocate Michael Hellens, who appears for the Crown, said Mkhonto’s evidence, without her being confronted with the evidence of Nkambule, her evidence should stand. Judge Nkosinathi Maseko reserved judgment in the matter.