Palesa Madiba murder trial: Witness testifies about uneven paving at backyard

Unusual paving at the yard where the skeleton of University of Johannesburg student Palesa Madiba was found on 16 December 2015 – two years after she went missing – was the centre of the testimony of witnesses in the murder trial of Dumisani Mkhwanazi on Friday.

Dimakatso Makhetha and Justice Ndaba testified in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg before Judge Prince Manyathi.

Makhetha gave evidence that on 12 August 2013, the day Madiba went missing after she had spent the weekend at her friend’s home – Matshidiso Mkhwanazi in Phiri, Soweto – he and Dumisani were sent to Ndaba’s house by his mother, Thandi.

Ndaba was supposed to install doors at the house but could not because he did not have a certain tool.

Matshidiso is Dumisani’s niece.

The accused faces charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the ends of justice, and the unlawful possession of a firearm and live ammunition.

Ndaba testified that he chatted with Dumisani when he went to fit the doors on the Tuesday, 13 August 2013.

After completing the job, he went to the tap to drink water and wash his hands, but saw what looked like a “hill”.

During examination, led by State Prosecutor, Faghre Mohamed, Ndaba said he noticed there were four-cornered paving bricks on the hill.

He added that it was not neatly done.

Ndaba told the court: “The items on this hill were four-cornered paving [bricks]. It was not an obvious steep but it was not fully levelled [sic].”

The witness said he had worked at the yard on many occasions before and had noticed something was wrong with this particular paving he saw on the day.

When he saw the untidy paving, he asked Dumisani to speak to his mother for him, so that the job could rather be given to him to complete.

He added Dumisani replied and said: “Don’t worry, brother, I did this [job].”

Dumisani told him that he did the job because water sometimes dams at the back of the flats, Ndaba said.

The witness said police officers also arrived several times while he was working at the house, adding that they were interacting with Dumisani.

Ndaba said when he spoke to Dumisani after the cops left, he replied: “These police officers are annoying. They keep coming here and asking me the same questions [about Palesa’s disappearance].”

Before Ndaba took the stand, Makhetha had testified that Dumisani did not go to work on the Monday Madiba went missing because he had been “tired”.

She also told the court that when she went to the backyard to hang her clothes on the Saturday, 17 August, five days after Madiba went missing, she also noticed there was a set of paving she saw for the first time.

Denying

During cross-examination by Dumisani’s lawyer Dominic Thinani, Ndaba said he had not previously noticed the uneven paving when he had jobs at the house. He said the back was not fully paved.

He added that when he observed the uneven paving on the Tuesday, it looked like it was recently erected.

Ndaba said he only interacted with the police when they showed him Palesa’s picture, querying whether she knew them – and that was days later.

The witness said Dumisani’s words that the cops were asking him the same questions had made him suspicious, but he disregarded because he heard sniffer dogs had also been to the house.

Replying to Thinani’s statement that his client was denying ever saying he erected the uneven paving, Ndaba said: “How can he deny when he was the one to tell me? Maybe he can be in a better position to then tell the court who erected the paving then.”

The trial is expected to continue from 23 to 27 November.

An inmate serving at Leeuwkop Correctional Centre is among the at least five witnesses the State is expected to bring forward as witness.

The inmate was mentioned during the testimony of Makhetha.

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