Temper tantrums by lion murder accused Mark Scott-Crossley during his trial in Phalaborwa Circuit Court should not be held against him in deliberations on the evidence presented during his trial, his counsel, Johann Engelbrecht SC, argued on Thursday.
He said that, in law, Scott-Crossley’s outburst on Wednesday and an incident earlier in the trial have to be excluded from deliberations, as they constitute similar but unconnected facts.
Scott-Crossley and his co-accused Simon Mathebula have pleaded not guilty of murdering farm-worker Nelson Chisale on January 31 last year, when he was fed to lions after being viciously assaulted with pangas.
A third accused, Richard Mathebula, who also maintains his innocence, remained hospitalised and will stand trial separately.
Charges have been provisionally withdrawn against a fourth accused, Robert Mnisi, who testified for the state, and who will be indemnified from prosecution only if he is found to have given frank and truthful evidence.
Judge George Maluleke, hearing the case with assessors Kate Choshi and Elphus Seemela, pointed out during closing arguments on Thursday that Mnisi claimed in his testimony to have been frightened of Scott-Crossley because of the ”anger, fury and aggression” he displayed at various stages.
Engelbrecht, however, countered that Mnisi had ”set his sails to the wind” during cross-examination — a submission that seemed to find favour with Maluleke, who agreed there is ”a lot of criticism of Mnisi’s evidence”.
Scott-Crossley’s evidence was uncontested that most people were afraid of crossing swords with Mnisi, Engelbrecht told the court.
On Scott-Crossley’s version of events, Mnisi threatened his life and that of his son should he not help dispose of Chisale’s body. The Mathebulas, however, have claimed they were at all times acting on Scott-Crossley’s instructions.
Engelbrecht asked why, if the Mathebulas were so intimidated by Scott-Crossley, they still had the ”courage” to shout at him to stop when they thought he was going to shoot Chisale.
”They went against him and remonstrated with him.”
Engelbrecht further argued that it has to be borne in mind that at the time of Scott-Crossley’s outburst on Wednesday, there was a discussion that normally happened between an attentive judge and counsel when counsel was addressing the court.
This may have caused the accused, being a person who does not understand this aspect, to believe rightly or wrongly ”already his version is not believed”, he added.
What is apparent is that he did not resort to violence.
Scott-Crossley erupted in the courtroom on Wednesday while Maluleke was remarking on the improbability of his evidence-in-chief on the use of an air-gun he claimed to have only ”shown” a wounded and trussed Chisale, neither pointing it at him nor instructing his son to do so.
On Scott-Crossley’s version, it was as if it was ”a game”, like it was ”a movie”.
”I can’t see how he could be serious. I just can’t see that,” Maluleke continued.
It was then that Scott-Crossley raised his voice.
”I’m sorry, but you can find that when they [the Mathebulas] are hitting [Chisale] with the panga that they are playing. No ways, No ways.”
He sat shaking his head from side to side.
When he later apologised, Maluleke warned him the court will not tolerate that kind of behaviour.
It undermines the dignity of the court and does not do him any good either. He has been treated with the utmost courtesy at all times during the trial.
Indeed, anyone who participates in the trial has to be treated as a human being.
It was not Scott-Crossley’s first outburst.
His bail of R250 000 was withdrawn only days into the trial, which started at the end of January, when he grabbed a witness by his T-shirt and muttered something to him as he left the witness box at the close of proceedings. The court found he had interfered or threatened to interfere with a witness.
Again, a few days later, albeit in a lighter vein, Scott-Crossley piped up that his co-accused’s counsel was probably a lot cheaper than his own, bringing gasps from the public gallery and putting an immediate end to a humorous aside in the court.
In testimony early on in the case, the court was told by investigating officer Inspector David Hlatshwayo told the court he had found Scott-Crossley uncooperative and ”very cheeky” at the time of his arrest on February 8 last year. — Sapa