Central SA
#PrellerSquareShooting: Self-confessed shooter to testify─── LUCKY NKUYANE 09:38 Mon, 23 Nov 2020
A fiery testimony from the self-confessed shooter of slain City Med Managing Director, Louis Siemens, is anticipated at the Bloemfontein High Court during the continuation of the trial on Monday.
All eyes will be on Xolisile "Botha" Mbebetho, who is serving 22-years in prison for the murder of Siemens, as he is expected to either make or break it for the state against some of the accused. He is expected to give a full account on the alleged role of alleged murder mastermind and accused number one, businessman Stanley Bakili, a court orderly, Kagiso Chabane, and a repeated offender, Mojalefa "Jali" Molusi.
Mbebetho pleaded guilty to the murder of Siemens and incriminated Bakili in the crime after he allegedly promised him R200 000 to execute the brutal murder of Siemens, who was shot four times in the basement parking of the Preller Square shopping complex. Mbebetho allegedly also drove in the same car with the accused police official Chabane to Home Affairs.
In video evidence brought to court in 2019, most of the accused - including Chabane and another police official, Molebatsi Mogoera, and former SANDF official, Clive Tshivenga - were apparently all seen at the Windmill Casino at some point.
During this video-led evidence by a state witness, former Grootvlei Prison head and Mangaung Private Prison adviser, Tatolo Setlai, it was not clear if all the accused seen in this video were in the company of Bakili.
But Setlai was adamant that the self-confessed shooter, Mbebetho, was in the company of Bakili at the said casino a day before the murder of Siemens.
Siemens was shot and killed in the basement parking lot of Preller Square on 10 May 2018. Bakili joins Mogoera, Chabane, Molusi, Moeketsi Lesia, Clive Tshivenga, Karabo Tau, and Sizwe Mpati in the dock. They are all between the ages of 29 and 56 and include three police officers, a disbarred advocate, an accused in separate double murder cases, and a military man.
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