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#PrellerSquareShooting: Defence concludes grilling state witness

───   LUCKY NKUYANE 08:19 Wed, 14 Apr 2021

#PrellerSquareShooting: Defence concludes grilling state witness | News Article

The defence in the murder trial of Bloemfontein businessman Louis Siemens have concluded their grilling cross-examination of the state's star witness and shooter in the Free State High Court.

The confessed shooter, Xolisile Botha Mbebetho, was on the stand since late 2020 before the court went on recess and resumed with his testimony on Monday this week. Mbebetho, who is serving 22 years of jail term for killing Siemens in cold blood at the Preller Square parking basement in broad daylight, implicated Stanley Bakili and Mojalefa Jali Molosi. His testimony was, however, also riddled with huge contradictions stemming from sworn statements he made after his arrest, a statement he made before the Magistrate, and also the testimony in chief in the High Court.

The latter has, however, absolved himself from all those contradictory statements by blaming all officials and at some point, this led to his anger and frustration.

The latter, during his fiery testimony, revealed that Bakili had hired him as a hitman to take out Siemens and Bakili's ex-wife.

He said the man believed to be the mastermind behind the murder, had promised to give him thousands of rands to kill his ex-wife but the plan failed because the wife was always on alert after noticing that Mbebetho was following him a few times.

After abandoning the plan, Bakili then proposed that he take out Siemens for a whopping R200 000, which he never received following the murder of Siemens.

The latter said after the murder of Siemens on that fateful day, Bakili gave him a runaround and until today he never received a cent from accused number one who is also a businessman.

Mbebetho said he suggested Molosi as his driver after he realised that he would need his driving expertise to leave the killing zone after the murder of Siemens.

He promised Molosi R80 000 from the R200 000. He said at that point, they slept at Bakili's place in Lillyvale in Bloemfontein and on the 10th of May 2018 went to the Preller Square Shopping Centre's basement parking to take out Siemens.

A video was also played in court in which it showed two men shoving Siemens from the elevator. Then moments later shots were fired which then killed Siemens.

The trio later met at the Windmill Casino but they were never to see each other again as Bakili allegedly disappeared into thin air. Bakili was later that day arrested while the two assassins were also arrested a few months later.

The trial continues on Wednesday with another state witness expected to take to the stand.


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