GIVING judgment in the murder trial of five Pietersburg rugby
players, Pretoria High Court Judge President Bernard Ngoepe said he had his reservations about testimony of an apparent attempt by some of
them to throw the victim, Tshepo Matloha, over a fence, which
caused his death.
Ngoepe had not given his verdict by lunchtime and was still
summarising evidence.
He referred to the ”unsuccessful” attempt by accused Riaan
Botha, the then team captain, to develop a version of events that after
Matloha was initially apprehended and left behind in the veld, some
of the other players had gone back and tried to throw the
19-year-old over a 2,4m-high fence.
Dr Ernst Kruger, a forensic pathologist in private practice,
testified in Botha’s defence that a woman in a blue dress had told
him about such an incident. The woman was apparently a friend or
relative of one of the accused.
Kruger said the skull fracture Matloha had sustained, was
compatible with such a version of events, and that the fall had probably
caused his death.
Botha and 10 other members of the Noordelikes rugby club in
Pietersburg were on a farm near Dendron on the weekend of March 24
and 25 last year. On the Sunday morning, they went for a game drive
and realised that there were poachers on the farm.
Matloha was apprehended, and according to some witnesses
assaulted and left in the veld.
Botha testified that in the afternoon he and some of the players
went for another game drive, leaving some of the others behind
at the farmhouse.
His co-accused denied they had gone back and tried to throw the body over the fence.
Ngoepe said: ”The problem with Dr Kruger is that he is adamant
that the deceased sustained the head injury during an attempt to
throw him over the fence.
”Clearly he was married to the story of the lady with the blue
dress.”
Kruger was not prepared to concede that the head injury could
have resulted from blunt force, Ngoepe said.
He said Kruger startled the court when he testified about an
argument between Botha and Matloha.
”No wonder that in cross-examination Dr Kruger was accused of
being biased in favour of (Botha).”
At times, Kruger went rambling on, regardless of the questions
put to him, Ngoepe said.
But he added: ”As far as the material findings of the post
mortem is concerned, he agrees substantially with Dr Bhootra.”
Bhootra is the state pathologist who did the post mortem on
Matloha.
Northern Province (Limpopo) premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi was on
Wednesday present at the Pretoria High Court.
Botha, Kobus Joubert, Ben Korff, Francois Velloen and Corne
Kloppers are charged with Matloha’s murder and the attempted murder
of his cousins, Alex and Melford Motlokwana.
Botha and Joubert face a charge of defeating the ends of justice
for throwing Matloha’s body into a dam. A charge of malicious
damage to property against Botha relates to the shooting of five
dogs. – Sapa