Questions of evidence tampering raised at Marikana trial

Images of Phumzile Sokanyile’s bruised and battered body sprawled out on a grassy flat were shown in the North West High Court on Wednesday, as the trial of the six police officers accused of murdering the Marikana mineworker and four others during violent labour unrest in 2012 continued.

They showed Sokanyile lying first on his stomach and then on his back after police had turned him over. But the unnatural position of a panga in his hand – which in the images he appeared to have been gripping more like a knife – has raised suspicions the scene may have been tampered with.

Sokanyile died of gunshot wounds in the back of his neck.

He is said to have been among a group of mineworkers who tried to flee after police fired teargas and stun grenades at them.

Lieutenant-Colonel Moses Mushwana, who has been on the witness stand for three days now, took the photographs of the body that were shown.

Kobus Burger, the attorney representing retired Colonel Salmon Vermaak, who stands accused of giving the  instruction to pursue the mineworkers, put it to Mushwana that the impression created was that Sokanyile had
been clutching the panga when he was killed.

Mushwana, who works in the South African Police Service’s local crime records centre and took the photographs
that day, agreed, somewhat cautiously.

“Here comes the strange part, if that is so then the late Mr Sokanyile must have held the panga like an okapi not a panga – like a knife that you stab with, not a panga that you hack with,”

Burger then postured.

Burger’s question may seem on its own to be an insignificant detail, but it comes on the back of a tough week for the state.

On Monday, Mushwana testified to having taken numerous photographs as well as collecting blood swabs and spent
ammunition.

He said he had returned the following day and again in October, when he had found three additional cartridge casings.

But under cross-examination, the defence quizzed Mushwana about why he had not taken clear photographs of the
knobkerries and spears he told the court he had found with blood on them.

He has also been questioned on a mix up with the crime administration system numbers allocated to the case and the integrity of the crime scene.

Earlier yesterday, Burger also asked Mushwana whether or not he had ever engaged with any of the locals living in the vicinity to find out if they had seen anything.

He replied in the negative, but added that it was not his job to do so. “We must not confuse issues because that is the duty of the investigating officer,” a visibly irritated Mushwana said.

“But you were there and you had all the equipment to take photographs and seize exhibits.

It’s a simple exercise,” Burger countered.

Mushwana stuck to his guns though. “That was not my duty,” he repeated.

Burger also asked Mushwana whether he had searched in and among large rocks at the scene where Sokanyile was found for cartridge casings and bullet heads that might have helped to identify his shooter.

Mushwana initially said there were no large rocks. But after he was shown a photograph Burger had taken, he was forced to concede that, in fact, there were. He then said he had searched in and among the rocks with a metal  detector, but that he was alone at the time and no-one could vouch for him.

– bernadettew@citizen.co.za

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