The trial of the three men accused of throwing a man to his death in a lion’s den was adjourned on Monday morning when the first of the accused pleaded guilty, contrary to his lawyer’s instructions.
Richard ”Doctor” Mathebula (41) told the packed Phalaborwa Circuit Court: ”I would say I plead guilty because I followed instructions given to me by my employer.”
Under the impression that his clients would plead not guilty to the crime, Mathebula’s lawyer, Matthews Kekana, asked for a break to consult with his clients.
Judge George Maluleke, assisted by assessors Kate Choshi and Elphus Seemela, agreed and adjourned the case to enable all three accused to confer with their lawyers.
Mathebula and co-accused Simon Mathebula (43) (not related) and Mark Scott-Crossley (37) are accused of murdering Nelson Chisale (41) at Hoedspruit on January 31 last year.
According to the indictment, Chisale was fired in November 2003 and went to the farm to collect his belongings. He entered through a security gate and approached Richard Mathebula. After a discussion, he and Simon Mathebula hit Chisale with pangas and tied him up with ropes.
The state alleges that Scott-Crossley was called to the scene and pointed a firearm at him. Chisale was then loaded on to a bakkie and thrown into a lion encampment.
The post-mortem found that Chisale’s cause of death was ”mauled by lions”.
Only the skull, broken leg bones and a finger of Chisale were found in the lion camp at the Mokwalo White Lion Project, near Hoedspruit, in a search after neighbours reported him missing.
”We did not do this intentionally,” Richard Mathebula told the court when he was asked to plead.
Simon Mathebula said: ”It’s not clear to me about the murder because I only heard about the person having died when I was arrested.”
Maluleke said all the accused will get ample opportunity during the trial to explain their plea.
Earlier, picketers converged on the court carrying banners, and the trial was attended by a number of international journalists.
”We want to see them behind bars. All three of them, because they have done a cruel thing,” said Bethuel Rassekgothoma, a member of the African National Congress Youth League in the area.
”We came here to make sure justice is done,” he said. ”We are going to make sure the accused are not let free. The law must take its course.”
A fourth man arrested with them, Robert Mnisi, has since turned state witness.
Scott-Crossley is the brother of Tracy Lee Scott-Crossley, one of six schoolgirls who disappeared in 1988 and 1989 shortly before paedophile Gert van Rooyen and his lover, Joey Haarhoff, committed suicide while on the run from police. — Sapa