MURDER accused Dumisani Mkhwanazi crushed Palesa Madiba.
This is what Mkhwanazi allegedly told his childhood friend Zwelakhe Mahlangu (35) after he asked him about the whereabouts of Palesa Madiba. This was after he heard about her disappearance.
Mahlangu, who was a friend to Mkhwanazi for more than 20 years, took the stand at the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday, 24 November and gave details of what his friend told him.
After a night of partying, Mahlangu said he asked Mkhwanazi what happened to Madiba.
He told the court: “I asked him what happened to Palesa. He got angry. I asked him for the second time. He said he crushed her.”
Mahlangu said Mkhwanazi said he shouldn’t ask him anything concerning that, ever.
However, the court didn’t get to hear how she was allegedly crushed by the accused.
Mahlangu said he knew Madiba as he would also visit the Mkhwanazi home. He also told the court that Mkhwanazi would make comments about how she looked.
“He said she was beautiful and pleasing to look at.”
Lawrence Hill from Wits University’s Forensic Medicine and Pathology Department said the time and date of death are unknown but after he studied the bones, the body could have been crushed.
“The bones were consistent with blunt force trauma. It could have been caused by crushing.
“The injuries were in the front, and at the back of the body, running down the spine,” said Hill.
In the police statement, Mahlangu said the accused was dating his girlfriend.
He told the girlfriend not to see him and said the accused was angry.
He warned the girlfriend that the accused was a bad person, this after he was allegedly told by Mkhwanazi that he had crushed Madiba.
Mahlangu told the court that he knew Mkhwanazi to have had a gun, but didn’t know if he had a licence to possess that weapon.
Sergeant Mokate Rasetsoko of the West Rand Flying Squad, also in the witness box, told the court they were on their way from Dobsonville to Lenasia when they came across a VW Polo driven by the accused.
He said they stopped the car to check if it was stolen, since it is one of the cars that were usually stolen in the Soweto area.
“We also wanted to check if there was anything illegal in the car. We asked for the driver’s licence and he didn’t give it to us.
“We asked him to get out of the car and asked to search him. I searched and didn’t find anything on him.”
After asking to search the car, to which Mkhwanazi gave permission, Sergeant Rasetsoko made a big discovery.
“I found a gun under the mat, next to the gear lever. I informed him that I will arrest him if the gun is unlawful.”
Mkhwanazi faces charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, obstruction of justice and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
