The South Gauteng High Court was packed again yesterday, 11 September, when the Lee Mentoor trial resumed for the sixth day.
Onke Hartin Mashinini, 29, the accused in the case, took the stand again, as the cross- examination by the State continued from the previous day.
Day 1 and 2 of trial:
https://www.citizen.co.za/roodepoort-record/2019/09/11/justiceforlee-update-i-am-not-perfect-i-am-not-jesus-christ-mashinini/
The State Prosecutor thoroughly cross-examined Mashinini, and during the questioning, quite a few contradictions came to light. And, even though he stuck to his version of what happened on that fateful day, some extra details were added during the cross-examination.
During the Defence’s questioning, Mashinini stated that Lee had run to the woman who claimed to be one of Kaylah’s family members, and hugged her legs. He also said that the woman offered to take Lee to his grandmother. However, during the cross-examination, he not only said that Lee ran to Vanessa and hugged her, but smiled at her. “She then proceeded to pick him up and kiss him on the cheek. I then asked her if she could not take Lee with her to his grandmother,” said Mashinini.
He also admitted that he never asked her for a telephone number, nor did he write down the registration number of the vehicle, and in addition, he could not describe the man that accompanied her. When asked how old he thought the man was, he said, “The man was not white or coloured, a bit chubby around the middle with short hair. I would say he was about five years younger than you (referring to the State Prosecutor), about 42 or 45.”
After waiting a while at the Westgate taxi rank for a taxi to go complete his business at the Taxify offices, he realised he would never make it on time and decided to go back home. He stated that he arrived back in Roodekrans at about 5pm, and spent some time with his friends. He admitted that he never thought of phoning Kaylah and informing her of what had transpired outside her mother’s house.
Read more:
https://www.citizen.co.za/roodepoort-record/2019/09/03/justiceforlee-update-trial-finally-starts-web/
Mashinini could also not give a satisfactory answer when asked why nobody else knew this so-called aunt, if Lee knew her as well as he (Mashinini) claimed.
He was questioned about the so-called bee-sting on Lee’s face, but once again, he could not give clear answers. He also claimed that the blood found on the floor of the house was from a cut Lee had sustained from breaking a glass a day or two before his disappearance.
After this cross-examination, Mashinini’s father was called to testify, and, after claiming that Lee was the grandson he never had (despite the fact that Mashinini has two sons with his ex-wife), he burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably. This resulted in a break, to allow him to compose himself.
When he resumed his testimony, he said, “Onke is the person who must take the family name forward. I will do whatever it takes to protect him.”
He was very vague with his answers on all the questions, and could not give specific details, often contradicting what Mashinini said. During the testimony, he also claimed that he had no knowledge of Mashinini’s previous arrests or charges against him. According to Mashinini’s father, the blood found in the bathtub by the police was his. “On the day the police came to our house, I was busy opening a can and cut my hand. The blood found was mine.”
He also stated that Lee had not slept with him and his wife on the night before his disappearance, as was claimed by Mashinini.
Mashinini’s sister was the next witness to be called, and it quickly became clear that, even though they are claiming to be a close-knit family, the one family member did not really know exactly what the other one was doing.
During her questioning, she not only contradicted Mashinini; she also contradicted her father, as she stated that Lee was indeed stung by a bee, and he did cut his finger, but both these incidents happened long before his disappearance. It was also confirmed by her that her father had cut his hand, but that incident happened a month after Lee’s disappearance. She also stated that her father did know about Mashinini’s prior arrests and charges.
But, it seemed that she was confused, as she changed her testimony quite a few times, muddling up the timeline of when incidents happened, with her excuse being, “Sorry, I am not good with dates.”
Before she stood down, she was also questioned by the judge.
Trial resumed today, 12 September, with two more witnesses expected to appear for the Defence.
The trial continues, and updates will be published as they become available.
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