Vryheid: ‘No reasonable person would convict him’
Did Xolile Majola lie on national television about the ‘repeated beatings’ he endured at the hands of Newcastle Mayor, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, and three of Dr Mahlaba’s friends?
In an episode of Special Assignment, which aired on May 26 and again on June 2, Majola, a former cow herd employed by Dr Mahlaba, told a reporter that he had lost the use of his hands, and his knees had been damaged, after he was repeatedly beaten with iron rods following a dispute over stolen cattle.
“They put a knife to my throat and threatened to cut me if I don’t tell the truth, because I know the whereabouts of the cows,” said Majola during the interview.
“They said they would beat me until I die if I didn’t tell the truth… They repeated the beatings, promising to kill me and throw me in the river.”
This video was produced at the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court by the Attorney for Dr Mahlaba, Ravindra Maniklall, when the assault case against Newcastle’s first citizen went to trial last Wednesday.
Majola told the court a different version of what had transpired when he took the witness stand.
“Were you ever threatened with a knife?” asked Maniklall, to which Majola responded, “I remember at one stage, one of the three men said he had an okapi knife. He asked me to pull down my zipper. When I refused, they put it away.”
When pressed for an explanation as to why his account of the incident in court differed from what he had said on television, Majola stated, “I was confused after I was assaulted. Everything I said was based on that confusion.”
Medical reports by both a private doctor and a state employed doctor from the Vryheid Hospital, who treated Majola for his injuries, were submitted to court as evidence.
However, neither of these reports contained an entry about stitches Majola claimed to have received for an injury to his knee, nor any injury to the head that Majola told the court had been bleeding following the attack.
In fact, none of the injuries Majola sustained from the alleged attack seemed to warrant even an X-ray, as no scans were taken.
The clinical findings submitted by Maniklall reported only a small abrasion to Majola’s knee.
If Majola is to be believed, the doctors and the police officers who took his statement had both made critical errors in the official documents they produced regarding the incident.
However, Majola contradicted himself, as well as the statements of other state witnesses, so many times during the trial that even presiding official, Magistrate Albert Mdlalose conceded the evidence led by the State ‘was of such poor quality that it would be an injustice to expect the accused to remain standing trial’.
The alleged assault for which Dr Mahlaba stood trial apparently took place in April 2018, but Majola only reported it a year later.
According to Majola, he was assaulted after being blamed for seven of Dr Mahlaba’s cattle going missing.
Maniklall however, argued that 15 cattle had gone missing and that Majola was an aggrieved former employee, who was bringing up charges now because the incident had cost him his job.
“Your worship, I am going to submit boldly, the quality of the complainant’s evidence has been so poor before this court. This court had to intervene on so many occasions to get him to answer simple questions.
“He has contradicted himself on so many different occasions, even during court proceedings, let alone his contradictions to his statements. He finds no support whatsoever in the J88s which have been handed in to the records. You have the two witness statements that have been handed in as exhibits C and D. That even contradicts his evidence. He himself destroys evidence of his own witnesses as well,” said Maniklall.
“Your worship, he is an aggrieved ex-employee. He has lost a job and he comes back months later, a year later, to finger the accused, who he holds responsible for this… For the loss of his job, as the court pointed out. The motive is clear… This court can safely state categorically his evidence has not been elevated to the threshold as being accepted as credible evidence.”
A request to postpone the trial by the investigating officer (IO), Constable Ntokozo Zulu of the Political Killing Task Team based in Durban, was denied by Mag Mdlalose after two state witnesses failed to appear in court.
“The IO warned the witnesses to be in court and they did not arrive. One is supposed to be in Swaziland, but the IO has never been there and does not know the address.
“The matter has been set down for trial twice and the accused has the right to a speedy trial. We cannot postpone it unnecessarily.
“The witnesses failed to come to court twice despite assurances that they will be here. If we postpone this case, we would have to postpone till September because the court is full for August,” explained Mag Mdlalose.
Mag Mdlalose went on to acquit Dr Mahlaba of the assault charges, stating, “…The evidence we have before us is of such poor quality that no reasonable person, acting carefully, would convict on it.”
ALSO READ: Newcastle Mayor is a free man
Contact us
WhatsApp: 082 874 5550
Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za
Make sure you follow us for regular updates:
