‘I CHASED VICTOR’S KILLER AFTER SHOOTING’

MBABANE – In an act of heroism or sheer bravery, German Victor Gamedze chased the fleeing armed man who had just shot his namesake in cold-blood.

German, who prefers to be called by his first name, risked his own life and ran after the man, who held the still smoking gun in his hand, until he jumped into the getaway vehicle which was waiting for him at the main road next to Midway Galp Filling Station.

He stated that he was aware that the killer was armed because he saw the gun in his hand as he ran towards a parked red VW Golf which he said jerked a few times before speeding off in the Mbabane direction. While this was happening, the shot Victor Mfana Gamedze lay bleeding on the concrete floor near his vehicle.

German, of KaShoba in the Lubombo Region, who said his father informed him that he was somehow related to Victor, was giving evidence on Wednesday at the High Court during Sipho Shongwe’s trial.

Victor was shot in cold-blood at Ezulwini Galp Filling Station on January 14, 2018. Businessman Sipho Shongwe has been charged with Victor’s murder and his trial began on Tuesday. Ten witnesses have testified so far.

German was the fifth witness to take the stand and he told the court that on the day of the incident, he was returning from Somhlolo National Stadium to watch a football match between Mbabane Swallows F.C. and Manzini Wanderers F.C. He said he was travelling in a motor vehicle and he alighted at the Galp Filling Station to withdraw money from his MTN Mobile Money account.

He was led in evidence by Advocate Michael Hellens, who has been instructed by the Crown, while Shongwe sat calmly in the dock, following the proceedings.

The witness told the court that when he arrived at the Mobile Money stall, it was closed and he decided to go to Thandabantu to make the withdrawal. While making his way there, he said he heard two gunshots, which rang in quick succession, and he hurried back to the filling station to see what had happened.

German informed the court that as he approached the fuel pumps, a man ran past him in the opposite direction towards the main road. He described the man as slim.

Ran

“I chased him and he ran to the (bus) station. As I chased him, he ran to a red VW near the station and as he got near, a door was opened for him and he got in, the car drove off,” said German.

According to German, since he was closer to the getaway car, the people at the filling station called out to him to take note of the vehicle’s registration number.
The witness said he proceeded to the filling station where Victor lay on the ground bleeding next to his vehicle in which he was later rushed to hospital.

German said he could identify the killer. The advocate asked him if he had seen the shooter’s face anywhere else and he said he saw his picture in a copy of the Times of Swaziland newspaper dated February 5, 2018.

When he said the picture was of the man who shot Victor, Judge Mbutfo Mamba, who presided over the matter, asked how the witness knew that the man was the one who shot Victor because he did not see the deceased being shot but heard gunshots.

German said the man he saw in the newspaper article was the one who ran past him with a firearm in his hand. During cross-examination by Advocate Laurence Hodes, who represents Shongwe, he said even if he could be shown 40 people, German would be able to recognise the person he described as the killer.

He stated that he did not read the whole article because it annoyed him. He said he concentrated on the picture and not the article.
Advocate Hodes put it to German, who was getting irritated by the minute, that in the statement he recorded with the police, he had indicated that the getaway car had foreign registration numbers which he failed to make out because the vehicle was speeding.

The witness denied this and said duct tape had been put over the area where a lregistration plate was supposed to be.
He explained that the vehicle with foreign registration numbers was the second one which followed the red car in which the suspected shooter had jumped in.
He said he never told the police about foreign registration numbers, but the advocate reminded him that he was reading from his statement. German said he was not aware where that information came from.

Advocate Hodes asked if German did not have difficulty signing an untrue statement and he explained that at the time he had just witnessed a traumatising incident and recorded a statement immediately.

Agreed

He had earlier on agreed with the advocate that it was logical that one could remember things better while they were still fresh in their mind.
In his statement, German also recorded that the shooter was dark in complexion and in his testimony he said he was fair.

Advocate Hodes said German’s statement was irreconcilable with his testimony, including the description of the clothes the killer was said to have worn on the fateful day. German said it was his first time appearing at the High Court in front of so many people. He told the court that he had raised the issue of the foreign registration number of the car with the director of public prosecutions (DPP). The matter has been postponed to Monday at 9am.





 


 

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: