Coffin assault trial

I would rather be shot than buried alive - Coffin assault victim tells court

Middelburg - Victor Mlotshwa, who was forced into a coffin by two men in Middelburg, told the High Court sitting in the town's Magistrate's Court that he would rather have been shot than buried alive.

"I think would have been better if they had shot me than burying me alive,'" Mlotshwa told the packed court gallery.

Mlotshwa was responding to cross-examination by advocate Org Basson who asked if Mlotshwa was not afraid they would shoot him when he suddenly ran from the coffin.

Mlotshwa was testifying in the fifth day of the trial.

Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen are facing charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.

Under the cross-examination by advocate Wayne Gibbs for Oosthuizen, Mlotshwa denied threatening the accused after they insisted they would take him to the police.

Threats

Gibbs said the accused wanted to take Mlotshwa to the police station after they found him in possession of suspected stolen property.

Gibbs said Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa continued to beg and invited them to rather assault him than take him to the police. "I know nothing about that," replied Mlotshwa.

He also added that Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa had a knobkerrie in his possession when the accused approached him.

"If I recall, when they apprehended me, I did not have a stick or kerrie with me. The only thing I had with me was money," he said.

Gibbs also told Mlotshwa that according to the accused, he uttered two serious threats.

"You said: 'If you take me to the police, when I come out I will burn your crops every year.' You also said: 'I know where you stay.' You said: 'I know you have wives and children and I will kill them,'" said Gibbs.

But Mlotshwa denied this.

Gibbs said for the accused to prevent Mlotshwa's threats and deter him from stealing they decided to scare him and "trump" his threats.

The trial continues.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...ve-coffin-assault-victim-tells-court-20170804
 
‘Coffin assault’ victim refuses to have his body inspected

The victim of what has come to be known as the “coffin assault” on Friday refused to have his body inspected for scars he sustained during the attack.

Testifying in the high court sitting in Middelburg‚ Mpumalanga‚ Victor Mlotshwa told the court he would be uncomfortable with having to strip for officials to view wounds he sustained.

“I have already undressed for the doctors before. I am not comfortable to undress again‚” Mlotshwa said.

He was under cross-examination by Org Basson‚ who represents Theo Jackson‚ one of two men accused of assaulting Mlotshwa.

According to Mlotshwa‚ farm workers Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen had beaten him with their fists‚ kicked him and hit him with a knobkerrie.

“But the doctor did not mention any of your scars‚” Basson put to Mlotshwa.

“All I know is that he was writing as he checked me‚” Mlotshwa replied.

He told the court that he did not mention to the doctor how he had been injured. He had not immediately seen a doctor but had gone several weeks later with the police‚ after he opened a case against the pair.

At the time‚ some of his wounds had healed but some scars still remained‚ he said.

Mlotshwa said he would not appreciate it if the defence lawyers were to consult the lawyer he initially consulted with when the legal processes began last year.

“Would you mind if we consulted to him in your presence?” Basson asked.

“I would mind‚” Mlotshwa responded. Basson said that as a lawyer with 40 years of experience‚ if someone consulted him about being assaulted in the manner in which Mlotshwa claimed‚ he would make a “big song and dance” about it.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/so...lt-victim-refuses-to-have-his-body-inspected/
 
Geoff.D said:
This whole issue is just pathetic form the start to the end. The Judge could have sorted all this out in one hearing in a morning.

Judge to the "victim": Did you steal anything on the farm?

"Victim": "Yes your honour"

J: "Were you caught?"
V: "Yes your honour"

Judge to the Accused: " Did you catch the thief in the act"
Acc: "Yes your honour"
J: Did you take the law into your own hands?
Acc: Yes your honour
J: did you force the victim into a coffin and threaten to burn him?
Acc: Yes your honour.

J: I find the victim guilty of theft and hereby sentence him to xx days/months years in jail.
J: I find the Acc guilty of taking the law into their own hands, etec, etc.
J I find them guilty as charged and sentenced to xx days/months/years in jail.

Case closed. lets go for lunch.

Instead the whole issue is turned into a feeding frenzy of BS.


No one can make light of theft and no one can possibly condone the actions of the accused. What is the problem?
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Common sense doesn't apply in a witchhunt.

I completely agree with you though.

I would further posit, that this is the ANC's fault. If we had a working police force and prosecution, people wouldn't go to these lengths. Doesn't condone their actions, but I can completely understand why it happened.
 
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lsheed_cn said:
Common sense doesn't apply in a witchhunt.

I completely agree with you though.

I would further posit, that this is the ANC's fault. If we had a working police force and prosecution, people wouldn't go to these lengths. Doesn't condone their actions, but I can completely understand why it happened.
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Yes this is blowing things out of proportion. But I'm not sure why you're blaming the anc. These farms would probably not have reported the theft to the police in the past either. They'd have done the same and got away with it
 
lsheed_cn said:
Common sense doesn't apply in a witchhunt.

I completely agree with you though.

I would further posit, that this is the ANC's fault. If we had a working police force and prosecution, people wouldn't go to these lengths. Doesn't condone their actions, but I can completely understand why it happened.
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Agreed
 
R13... said:
Yes this is blowing things out of proportion. But I'm not sure why you're blaming the anc. These farms would probably not have reported the theft to the police in the past either. They'd have done the same and got away with it
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After so mamy times, and then these criminals are let out back onto the streets, why would you go again to the USAPS(USELESS SAPS)
 
'My son couldn't speak after coffin assault'

Victor Mlotshwa was afraid of going to the police after he was allegedly assaulted and placed inside a coffin‚ his mother testified in court on Monday.

At the time of the alleged attack in August last‚ Mlotshwa had R2‚000 on him and a list of goods she needed‚ Lonia Mlotshwa told the High Court sitting at the Middelburg Magistrate's Court.

Lonia Mlotshwa took the stand in the attempted murder trial of Willem Oosthuzen and Theo Martins Jackson and said she had sent her son to town to buy stock for her to sell on the morning of the incident.

She said her son came home at about 1.30pm with a visibly bruised eye and dirty clothes.

"I asked [him] what happened but he did not respond. He made a gesture to show that he could not talk to me. I asked him if he was sick or if there were people who robbed him but he said he could not tell me and asked to go to sleep‚" Mlotshwa told the court.

She said she bought him tablets‚ which he took and then went to sleep. When he woke up‚ he told his mother about the ordeal.

"He said he was apprehended by whites. He said he was found hiking ... He said they took him to a place where they placed him in the coffin‚" she said.

Mlotshwa said she told her son to go open a case but he said there was no evidence.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-08-07-my-son-couldnt-speak-after-coffin-assault/
 
Coffin accused 'tried to hide evidence'

A policeman has accused two Mpumalanga men of attempting to conceal evidence after they allegedly tried to burn a man alive in a coffin.

On Friday detective Dimakatso Bahula dropped a bombshell in court when she revealed that the accused — Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson — allegedly tried to hide evidence from her.

Bahula‚ who continues to testify on Monday‚ is presenting evidence in the racially charged case in a special High Court sitting in Middelburg.

Oosthuizen and Jackson are accused of allegedly attacking and forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin before threatening to set it alight.

Bahula told the court on Friday that Oosthuizen had failed to produce the cellphone that he had used to capture himself and Jackson forcing Mlotshwa into the coffin.

“He said the phone was snatched by thieves from his wife in Middelburg‚” Bahula said.

She said Oosthuizen told her this during a consultation she had with the accused after their arrest in November in the presence of their lawyer.

But several days ago Oosthuizen produced the phone in court. It contains a two-minute long video clip of the incident.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-08-07-coffin-accused-tried-to-hide-evidence/
 
Mlotshwa's mom 'angry, unsettled' about coffin video

Middelburg - Victor Mlotshwa's mother, Lonia, broke down during her testimony in the High Court sitting in the Middleburg Magistrate's Court on Monday when asked how she felt when she first saw the video of her son being forced into a coffin.

She told the court she felt "angry, unsettled and couldn't speak".

"I asked myself, had the Lord not helped him to get out of the coffin - I wonder what could have happened to him," she said during the sixth day of the trial.

Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen are facing charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.

They were granted R1 000 bail in July after reapplying for bail.

She asked what had gone through the minds of the accused when they forced her son into a coffin.

"What if they had killed him? Would I have known that he was dead?"

Day of incident

She said on the day of the incident at around 09:00 - she sent Mlotshwa to buy groceries. She had given him R2 000.

However, at about 13:00 Mlotshwa returned home with injuries and refused to speak to her.

His eyes were red, he also had a red swollen mark on his chest. There were scratches on both his legs below the knee and his clothes were dirty, Lonia told the packed court room.

She said she was worried about what had really happened to him and thought he was not well.

"I asked him what happened - he just waved his hand."

She said she tried to ask him where the groceries were. She said he reiterated that he could not talk to her.

"I asked him if he was not well or if there were people who robbed him," she said.

She said after a while, Mlotshwa told her what had happened.

Threats

She said when she advised him to go to the police, Mlotshwa told her that the two men had threatened to shoot him if he reported them. They also said they worked with the police, she said.

Last week, the court heard that Mlotshwa had allegedly threatened the accused after they insisted they would take him to the police.

Under cross-examination by advocate Wayne Gibbs for Oosthuizen, Mlotshwa denied the allegations.

Gibbs said the accused wanted to take Mlotshwa to the police station after they found him in possession of suspected stolen property. Gibbs said Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa continued to beg and invited them to rather assault him than take him to the police.

"I know nothing about that," Mlotshwa replied. He also added that Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa had a knobkerrie in his possession when the accused approached him.

The matter continues.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/mlotshwas-mom-angry-unsettled-about-coffin-video-20170807
 
Oh, the Lord, how come the Lord not prevent him from stealing? Lord too late again, or is it, an ... ... African Lord? lol
 
What if they hadn't put him in the coffin and let him carry on his criminal ways. First mielies. Then potatoes. Then grapes. Those are the known gateway foodstuffs. Soon it will be cell phones. Then car radios. Then ATMs. These boertjies did him a huge favor lady. Thank you maker for their timely intervention.
 
I have never considered our actions to be wrong - coffin accused

Middelburg - One of the accused in the coffin assault case, Willem Oosthuizen, has told the High Court sitting in the Middelburg Magistrate's Court that, at no point, has he ever considered their actions of forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin as wrong.

Oosthuizen was testifying during the seventh day of the trial.

"Have you ever considered your actions to be wrongful?" his lawyer Advocate Wayne Gibbs asked.

Oosthuizen said: "No"

Oosthuizen and his co-accused Theo Jackson are facing charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, and possession of an illegal firearm.

They were granted R1 000 bail in July after reapplying.

Under the cross-examination by Gibbs, he said they only wanted to scare off Mlotshwa after he had allegedly threatened to murder their wives and children.

He said, on September 7, 2016, he had noticed Mlotshwa walking on the footpath in the mielie fields.

"I hooted and flicked the lights to give him sign that he must come closer to me. He was coming through the mielie fields," he said.

'We instructed him to get into the coffin'

He said Mlotshwa was carrying a black bag which contained suspected stolen copper cable.

Oosthuizen also said the footpath which Mlotshwa used was associated with criminals.

He said, after catching Mlotshwa, he forced him into the bakkie and asked Jackson to come with the coffin.

They instructed him to offload the coffin from the bakkie .

"We instructed him to get into the coffin," he said.

He said he took the two-minutes video after Jackson's cellphone died while he was taking the short video that went viral.

He said they took the videos in order to show that they didn't assault Mlotshwa.

"After the video, we advised him to get out of the coffin."

Oosthuizen also denied that Mlotshwa ran for his life soon after the incident.

'Angry, unsettled'

He also denied knowing the first complainant, Delton Sithole, who testified last week that the two men had also assaulted him.

Prosecutor Robert Molokoane also cross-examined Oosthuizen.

He said the men could have suffocated Mlotshwa when they tried to close the coffin.

"If Mlotshwa was killed, nobody would have known where he was killed," Molokoane said.

"I don't know. I don't know the farm," Oosthuizen replied.

On Monday, Mlotshwa's mother, Lonia, broke down after Molokoane asked her how she felt the first time she saw the video of her son being forced in a coffin.

She said she felt "angry, unsettled and couldn't speak".

"I asked myself, had the Lord not helped him to get out of of the coffin, I wonder what could have happened to him."

But the defence accused her of being evasive with her answers in order to protect her son. The defence said her testimony was different from the initial statement she had made to the police.

The trial continues.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...r-actions-to-be-wrong-coffin-accused-20170808
 
Second accused in coffin case denies assault

Middelburg – One of the accused in the coffin assault case, Theo Jackson, has denied tying Victor Mlotshwa with cable ties, assaulting him with clenched fists, a knobkerrie and kicking him all over his body.

Jackson was testifying during the eighth day of the trial in the High Court sitting in the Middelburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen are facing charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.

They were granted R1 000 bail in July after reapplying for bail.

During his evidence-in-chief led by his lawyer Org Basson, Jackson said he never considered what they did to Mlotshwa as wrong.

He said they never assaulted him. Mlotshwa had previously testified that Jackson made use of the knobkerrie to assault him all over his body, but "mostly on the back".

He also said the duo had used cable ties to restrain him. "It is not true," Jackson said.

Jackson said on September 7, 2016, when they apprehended Mlotshwa, Oosthuizen had threatened to take him to the police, however, he begged them not to take him.

He said he remembers the date because on September 8 they caught people who had stolen diesel.

'It made me scared'

But according to Mlotshwa, the incident happened on August 17, 2016.

"He told us we can do anything to him. Accused one (Oosthuizen) said no, we are taking you to [the] police station," Jackson told the court, with a packed gallery.

He said Mlotshwa had threatened to burn their mielie fields.

He also said he was scared when Mlotshwa threatened to kill their wives and children.

"It made me scared when he said he knows where my wife is and her [Jackson's wife] boss was [previously] shot in his house."

He said on the day of the incident, they only forced Mlotshwa into the coffin briefly.

"Victor was not in the coffin [for] longer than five minutes," Jackson said.

But Basson said Victor had allegedly told police that it lasted for an hour.

"It is not correct," Jackson said.

Only wanted to scare him

He also told the court that they normally took photographs of suspects because there were previous allegations that they had assaulted people.

He denied that he had a firearm or petrol.

He told the court that he had caught Mlotshwa carrying a black bag with suspected stolen copper cables.

Jackson said when they threatened to pour petrol over Mlotshwa while in the coffin, they only wanted to scare him.

He said he was carrying a white container that had bolts, nuts and screws and Mlotshwa could not see what was in it.

"I asked for [a] match from accused one (Oosthuizen) so that Victor can think it is petrol," he said.

"Accused one placed a lid on him. Victor started to cry loudly. Willem stopped the video and said get out of the coffin."

He said soon after that, Mlotshwa assisted them to put the coffin on the bakkie.

The matter continues.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/second-accused-in-coffin-case-denies-assault-20170810
 
No money for #CoffinAssault accused's R200k legal bill

Middelburg - The two men accused of assaulting and shoving farmworker Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin have racked up about R200 000 in legal fees during their trial, but they would not pay a cent of it as they were represented free of charge, their attorney said on Thursday.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson were represented by advocates Wayne Gibbs and Org Basson since the on-going trial started in the Delmas High Court on Monday.

Speaking to African News Agency (ANA) at the Middelburg High Court, attorney Marius Coertze said he appointed the two advocates because he wanted to help Oosthuizen and Jackson as they were currently unemployed.

He said both Oosthuizen and Jackson were also defrauded of about R50 000 by a certain man who masqueraded as an attorney and promised to defend them after they were arrested late last year.
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More at: http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-afr...finassault-accuseds-r200k-legal-bill-10727086
 
Bag with stolen loot was given away‚ 'coffin assault' trial hears

Crucial evidence which would have supported allegations that the so-called “coffin assault” victim had stolen copper cables was nowhere to be found.

One of the accused‚ Theo Jackson‚ on Thursday told the High Court sitting in Middelburg that Victor Mlotshwa’s bag containing the rolls of stolen copper cables had since been given away.

“I gave it to one of my employees‚” Jackson said.

He is one of two men who filmed themselves forcing Mlotshwa into a coffin and threatening to douse it with petrol as he cried and begged for mercy.

The incident occurred near the Komati Power Station in August 2016.

Despite having taken pictures and a video of Mlotshwa during the incident‚ Jackson said he did not think of taking pictures of the stolen copper that Mlotshwa was allegedly found with.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/so...ot-was-given-away-coffin-assault-trial-hears/
 
'I deleted coffin assault video to avoid a fight with my wife‚' says accused

A Mpumalanga man accused of forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin has offered no apology and showed no remorse as he concluded his testimony in the High Court sitting in Middelburg.

Theo Jackson was not asked whether he wanted to offer an apology to Mlotshwa under re-examination by his lawyer Org Basson.

However‚ he agreed that he and his co-accused could have killed Mlotshwa‚ without anyone ever knowing.

Jackson and his farm colleague Willem Oosthuizen face numerous charges‚ including attempted murder. But they have testified that they had no intention of killing Mlotshwa.

They both maintain they saw nothing wrong with driving Mlotshwa to a secluded area and threatening to set him alight after forcing him into a coffin as he begged for his life.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/so...o-to-avoid-a-fight-with-my-wife-says-accused/
 
Car tracking report supports accused’s version of coffin assault

Car tracking records of the coffin assault accused have disputed evidence given by their alleged victim‚ Victor Mlotshwa.

Andre Maree from a car tracking company on Friday told the high court sitting in Middelburg that the record placed the accused‚ Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen‚ at the scene on September 7 and not on August 17 as stated by Mlotshwa.

The report further poured water on Mlotshwa’s allegations that the coffin ordeal unfolded over an hour.

Maree’s report showed that the vehicles were stationary at the scene for about 15 minutes‚ supporting the accused’s version.

Oosthuizen and Jackson claimed that they had placed Mlotshwa in the coffin for about five minutes and the other 10 minutes were spent offloading the coffin‚ questioning him and taking a photograph of him.

But‚ in a quick and brief cross-examination‚ prosecutor Robert Molokoane tore into the accuracy of the tracking reports‚ alleging they could have been manipulated.

Maree had testified that the PDF files containing the report were less likely to be tampered with‚ but Molokoane presented the same report into which had entered his own name. This‚ he said‚ proved the report was not 100% tamper proof.

“We cannot say really that these are the exact comparisons. You were sitting in the office and you were told about the points and you generated these points from your table‚” said Molokoane.
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More at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/so...-supports-accuseds-version-of-coffin-assault/
 
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