The defence has accused the witness of being severely intoxicated on the day that the Polo Vivo driver allegedly suffered an attack from Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s protectors.
This was brought before the Randburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday following the resumption of the proceedings on Monday.
During his cross-examination, advocate Mswazi Makhubele, who is representing the eight accused, stated as much while he showed pictures of cars that were purportedly in the convoy to demonstrate that they were marked for drivers to see.
The witness admitted in court that he sees the mark; however, he is not certain that the vehicle shown in court is the one that was driving alongside his Polo Vivo.
He said all he saw on the day were black vehicles.
Blame game
“As displayed in the picture before the court, the left front door of the car is marked. I put it to you that on the day of the incident, this car was still marked for other drivers to see,” said Makhubele.
“It is strange that you are testifying to this court that those vehicles that blocked you on the day of the incident were not marked.
“Yet you just agreed that you see one of the cars as marked now, as displayed by the picture.
“Not seeing the mark is highly improbable because you have overtaken this vehicle several times.”
He further probed how the victim drove after he was allegedly attacked. ”After the incident, you drove to the base in Pretoria. Am I correct?” he asked.
The witness agreed; however, he told the court that he was unconscious after he suffered severe blows.
The witness claims that after the accused stopped him, all he remembers is a “bang” as a group of men smashed his rear-view window.
Why didn’t you take me to the police station?
“That means you don’t remember driving from the scene to the base. Then you would agree with me that the reason you didn’t see the convoy or when you were stopped was because you were intoxicated,” probed Makhubele.
“And further, the reason you don’t remember anything that happened after the bang and driving to Pretoria was because you were intoxicated.”
The witness answered: “If I was intoxicated, present the proof before this court. Why did they not take me to the nearest police station if I really was drunk?”
According to Makhubele, the accused had to decide whether to bring the inebriated witness to the closest police station or return to the convoy and protect their principal (Mashatile).
To which the witness responded: “The said principal himself said that he wasn’t in the convoy, and his spokesperson said that he wasn’t there, so who were they rushing to protect?”
Makhubele told the court that the accused denied damaging the Polo Vivo.
Accused four and six singled out
“It was damaged because it was necessary to search to see if there were any dangerous weapons that you had in the car because of the manner in which you were driving. You posed a danger to the convoy.
“The accused deny ever pointing at you with guns and that they drove lawfully because you were the one that was driving recklessly on that particular day,” said Makhubele.
The witness testified in court that he saw six men that he recognised from the scene, but that the men who are accused numbers four and six were the ones who attacked him.
“I could see on the video that accused numbers four and six assaulted me. The real question is why they are all before the court with [accused] numbers four and six.
“I remember the attempts they made to smash the driver’s window, and I remember them smashing the rear window.
“After smashing it, they drove off. If they really wanted to search for weapons, why didn’t they?”
Outrage after attack video went viral
The suspected individuals were seen on camera in July 2023 kicking and beating two passengers and a driver on the N1 near the Winnie Mandela Drive off-ramp.
Social media users were outraged nationwide when the attack’s video went viral.
The eight accused are facing 11 charges, including causing malicious damage to property, pointing a firearm, and reckless driving.
They are also charged with attempting to defeat the administration of justice, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
They handed themselves over to the police days after the attack and are currently out on R10 000 bail each.
