/ 9 May 1997

Insufficient evidence against two Mxenge accused

FRIDAY, 2.30PM

AS the state presented its closing argument in the Mxenge trial, state advocate Chris de Klerk conceded there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that ex-security cops Johan van der Hoven and Andy Taylor were involved in the 1981 murder of human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge.

Van der Hoven, Taylor, former Vlakplaas killer squad commander Dirk Coetzee, and Vlakplaas operatives David Tshikalange and Almond Nofomela stand accused of killing and robbing Mxenge in Umlazi in 1981. Both Coetzee and Nofomela have publicly admitted their part in the murder.

De Klerk earlier argued that confessions made by Coetzee, Nofomela and Tshikalange concerning their hit-squad activities in the security police corroborated evidence given by state witness Joe Mamasela, another Vlakplaas assassin and self-confessed murderer.