Alleged killer used father’s gun to shoot woman in the head, court hears

On Friday the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s’ Court in Johannesburg found Sifiso Mkhwanazi’s confession made to his father on the killing of six Zimbabwean sex workers admissible to be used as evidence in his main trial.

Mkhwanazi faces a range of charges, including murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

One of the sex workers was shot dead, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Mkhwanazi’s father Mike Khumalo who is the state’s second witness in the main trial, was the first witness of the defence’s cross examination.

In his evidence-in-chief Khumalo revealed a list of items he saw in his panel-beater shop when the bodies were discovered.

As he described the scene, he mentioned used condoms, earrings and women’s shoes.

Revenge

On Monday, Khumalo took the stand again as the state witness.

Khumalo told the court that he was only testifying because his son confided in him when he asked about what he had done.

“I didn’t force him to confess to me. I asked him what had happened, and he told me what he did. Had he said he didn’t do it, I would have believed him,” said Khumalo.

He further stated that Mkhwanazi said he had committed the crimes because he was avenging himself.

“My son said he did it because he wanted revenge. He claimed he had taken revenge on all the victims. He claimed he wanted revenge after being falsely implicated by a woman and ended up in prison awaiting trial between nine to 10 months,” said Khumalo.

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However, while Mkhwanazi told his father about the revenge, according to Khumalo he did not tell him what the exact motive was.

In his testimony, Khumalo denies having known about son’s crimes prior to Mkhwanazi’s confession.

Khumalo told the court that he kept two guns at his panel-beater shop, in his safe. He further said his son had lied about where he found the keys to his safe in order to access the gun that Mkhwanazi allegedly used to shoot one of his victims.

ALSO READ: Sifiso Mkhwanazi confessed to father about killing sex workers, court hears

“As far as I know, my gun was always in the safe. When I found out that one of the victims was shot (dead), I discussed it with a police captain, asking him to take the gun for ballistics. There were two guns there (in the safe), and only one was mine. I also asked the captain to take both guns for ballistics.

“My safe is kept locked. I keep the keys with me. I keep not only my firearm inside the safe, but also some valuables. It is not true that he claimed he found the keys to the safe in the drawer in my office. That is not true.”

Sex worker testimony

A colleague of Mkhwanazi’s six victims took the stand on Monday. The sex worker asked to be kept anonymous under the pseudonym “Miss A”.

The witness told the court she had seen Joyous Moyo leave in a white van with an unknown man after Moyo and the man had a brief conversation.

Prior to Moyo leaving with Mkhwanazi, Miss A testified that Mkhwanazi arrived at their spot around seven pm.

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He allegedly told her to call Moyo when Miss A was the one who had initially approached Mkhwanazi’s vehicle.

The sex worker testified that she obliged. “I then said Joyce you are being called,” she said.

According to the sex worker, that was the last she had seen Moyo alive.

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The witness told the court that her other colleagues informed her about bodies found at a panel beater in the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD).

This was after Moyo had been missing for an entire week.

Arriving at the scene of the grim discoveries, Miss A was allegedly identified by Moyo’s sister who told the police that she was the last person to see Moyo alive.

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After having her statement taken, the witness told the court that she identified the vehicle she last saw Moyo leave in.

”There were a lot of cars and I pointed at the car that took Joyce. It looked the same,” Miss A testified.

The sex worker disputed Mkhwanazi’s claims that Moyo and the other deceased sex workers would demand more money.

She argued that in their industry, the sex workers would not leave with a person they had not agreed on the price with.

The witness will reappear in court on Tuesday to be cross examined by the defense.