The North West High Court in Mahikeng has denied the defence’s application to have Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte exonerated on charge of murder. The men were charged following the death of 15-year-old Mathlomola Mosweu of Coligny.
Their legal representatives filed an application according to Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act on Thursday to have them discharged, arguing that the state does not have a strong case.
Their application was based on the testimony of eye witness Bonakele Pakisi. He had allegedly seen Schutte throw the teenager off a moving vehicle, after which the men apparently drove around with the badly injured Mosewu and Pakisi, forcing him to drink alcohol and assaulting him.
The defence pointed out various discrepancies in Pakisi’s testimony, arguing he was therefore not a credible witness, maintaining that Mosewu had jumped from their van.
The defence painted a different picture to the court, attempting to get their clients off the hook. They filed for their discharge, arguing that Pakisi’s version was not reliable and even, improbable.
Doorewaard and Schutte were disillusioned, within seconds, when Judge Ronald Hendricks, disagreed, and denied the application to exonerate them on charges of murder, kidnapping, intimidation and theft, saying he would provide reasons for the denial at a later stage.
He dismissed charges of the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition because the state did not submit enough evidence for a conviction. The defence requested for the case to be postponed, to allow them time to consult with at least eight people, they plan to call to testify.
However, Hendricks would only postpone until Monday, saying the case had been scheduled to continue until Wednesday.
The defence has previously indicated, it had no problem calling Doorewaard and Schutte to testify. Click below for more on the trial:
