This as the defence attorney, Dawie Reyneke, on Tuesday continued with pressing questions over the contradictory statements made by Xolisile Botha Mbebetho. The confessed shooter appeared angry and irritated when probed on why some of the details he made during his testimony in court differ from the plea sentence report, amongst others. Mbebetho allegedly admitted in a statement in court that during the shooting of Siemens at Preller Square, two men identified as Lesotho nationals threatened to shoot him if he did not take a shot at Siemens. He was also probed on why, within a matter of hours after appearing in the Magistrate's Court in October 2018, his statement changed when taken to the pointing out process with an investigating officer from the Heidedal Police Station.

Mbebetho refuted claims that he made a contradictory statement but he insisted that officials wanted to take advantage of him because of the state he was in, following his hit-and-run accident.

It also appeared in court on Tuesday that during the pointing out session with the investigator from Heidedal, he told the investigator that Stanley Bakili threatened him and said a white man would kill him if he did not kill his girlfriend.

This was two hours after he appeared before a Bloemfontein Magistrate in October 2018. Mbebetho continues to blame those who were writing down his statements, including a police captain and a legal aid lawyer, for not mentioning important facts in his sworn statement about the death of Siemens. But Reyneke accused Mbebetho of not taking responsibility for his mistakes.

Meanwhile, the men on trial are Bakili, Molebatsi Mogoera, Kagiso Chabane, Mojalefa Jali Molosi, Moeketsi Lesia, Karabo Tau, Sizwe Mpati, and Clive Tshivenga. They include three police officers, a disbarred advocate, an accused in separate double murder cases, and a military man. They are charged with, amongst others, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and extortion.

OFM News