The prosecution in the Marike de Klerk murder trial argued on Monday that the case against the former first lady’s alleged killer Luyanda Mboniswa was strong.
Mboniswa, who was a security guard, has pleaded not guilty before Cape Judge President John Hlophe to charges of murder and rape and a third charge of housebreaking with intent to steal, murder and rape.
Prosecutor Tessa Heunis told the court ”silence is golden” but that Mboniswa’s silence about the alleged murder was ”not golden.”
She said his silence about why he went to De Klerk’s flat was deafening. He had said nothing to gainsay the strong body of evidence against him. The case should have lasted four weeks, but had lasted much longer, and the defence contention that someone else was responsible had amounted to nothing.
Heunis said the State had presented to the court a huge body of evidence that was left unchallenged. She contended the State had proved beyond doubt Mboniswa’s guilt on the housebreaking charge, as well as the murder, robbery and rape charges.
Heunis asked the court to draw a negative inference against Mboniswa for his silence. The defence hypothesis about ”other possibilities” had wasted the court’s time.
The most important evidence against Mboniswa was his own confession, made before magistrate Hennie le Roux. The confession alone was sufficient to convict him.
Heunis said Mboniswa had proved himself to be an inveterate liar, and his reference to De Klerk’s dancing teacher John Thebus as a possible suspect had been a fabrication.
The judge asked Heunis to focus on the rape charge. Heunis said experts had agreed that the two vaginal injuries suffered by De Klerk — one at the entrance to her vagina and the other on the vaginal wall — had been caused by an erect penis, and were consistent with non-consensual sexual intercourse. Professor Deon Knobel had stated that these injuries were consistent with rape, Heunis said.
The physical evidence about the rape was unchallenged by the defence and the fact that there was no semen or DNA concerning the rape did not affect the case. The case continues. – Sapa