Mulbarton restaurant murder case: Rowland pleads not guilty to both charges

DAY 3

The third day of the Mulbarton restaurant shooting trial, in which Daniel Rowland stands accused of murder and possession of drugs, started on February 14.

Rowland pleaded not guilty to both charges at the Booysens Magistrate’s Court.

The day started with prosecutor Mashobane explaining to the court that he provided the defence with what they requested, which was the disc of the photographs of the scene.

“As promised, I gave them what they wanted. However, they are not satisfied with the contents of the disc. The photo album compiler who took these photographs said this is what he had. There is nothing we are withholding from the defence,” he explained.

Counsel Van Heerden said they received a PowerPoint presentation of the photo album. “It is a common practice that when you take photographs from the scene, they are in a RAW format which contains metadata and these don’t have. We also requested the local criminal record centre (LCRC) officer to come to court with his files,” she said.

Magistrate Habib said the defence had the right to get a private investigator, as they cannot use the state resources to prove their case.

“We cannot continue delaying this case and this prosecutor can only provide what he has,” she said.

Mashobane said the photo album compiler, Mr Mthembu could not come to court because he had a car accident on February 12 and he is on crutches.

Van Heerden said it is not prudent to continue with other witnesses because they will have the same problem, and stated that these .jpeg format photographs are important to them in this case.

“I am willing to attend with the LCRC officer to sort this matter. So, I suggest this matter be postponed or stand down for a day or two to fix this because this will prejudice our case,” she said.

Mashobane said he was ready to proceed as his witnesses were available and there was nothing more he could give. He again stated that he was not withholding anything.

Habib said they should not waste more time. “The application to stand down or postpone the case is refused,” she ruled.

A third witness on the stand

The third witness, Tracey Groenewald, was called to the stand.

She explained on the day of the incident she was working at the restaurant helping her son.

“I helped at the till, with phone calls and serving.

“On the day I was mainly at the till, which was about 5pm when he walked into the restaurant,” she explained.

She also described when you entered the restaurant and onto the balcony was also how to access the till.

“When at the till working, I heard a loud noise which sounded like a gunshot. I was not sure what it was. Then I went to the table where we usually sit to have a cup of coffee.

“The accused walked in with a lady behind him. I’ve known him for a long time and asked him to behave.

“He said ‘Auntie Tracey, my car just backfired’. I then went to the till to help the take-aways customers. I heard screaming from a customer, Carla van der Walt saying ‘he was hitting her’. I went to the patio of the restaurant and I saw my son leading the accused out of the restaurant. I went to the table where the lady was and asked her if she was okay. She said to me ‘Let him leave’.

My husband was also at the table while I was consoling the girl.

“The accused came back to the balcony screaming ‘give it to me’. I didn’t know what he was looking for. I saw in his eyes that he was very angry, screaming, and shouting.

“I decided to go to him to calm him down outside the restaurant. I put my right arm around him and said ‘Daniel please this is a family restaurant’, and I asked him to leave. Within seconds, he raised what I saw as a gun and fired a shot toward the girl.

“I immediately dropped to the ground and ran to the restaurant to tell my son I was okay. Two of the customers ran towards the accused. I know one of them as Gerald.

“As I reached the patio, my son came out. I continued inside to check all the customers. That’s when I saw one of our customers has been shot. I went outside, made sure the ambulance and security were there, and Daniel was handcuffed,” she explained.

She also mentioned that when she put his arm around him to calm down, she didn’t notice any firearm.

Cross-examination

In her cross-examination, Van Heerden said it was clear that Tracey and her husband discussed the incident. ”Of course, I spoke to my husband about what happened,” noted Tracey.

There was a discussion about the width of the space on the balcony and the fact that no one changed the set-up of tables and chairs after the incident. Also, the discussion was about the opening and closing of the blinds in the restaurant.

The defence asked why Tracey didn’t make the statement to the police on that day. She said the police only wanted one statement, which was already given by her husband.

Tracey said he made the statement to the ex-policeman, and they went to Mondeor SAPS with it. She also mentioned he didn’t advise her to make the statement to the police, as the defence asked.

The court asked Tracey to do a rough sketch of the outside of the restaurant, and the court adjourned for 15 minutes.

After the recess, Van Heerden asked the court for an application of the transcript of the case, because she felt the magistrate was not fair to them, and the manner she addressed them will jeopardize the outcome of the case. She also expressed that she wished Magistrate Habib to recuse herself from the case.

April 25 was set as the next date which will allow the defence to apply and get the transcript.

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