Justice was not served during the murder trial of Mark Scott-Crossley, who is serving a life sentence for killing a farmworker he threw to lions, the Supreme Court of Appeal heard on Monday.
Scott-Crossley’s counsel, Johann Engelbrecht, submitted that the court had entered the ”arena of guiding the state when examining witnesses in chief” during the trial of Scott-Crossley, who was sentenced by the Phalaborwa Circuit Court in September 2005 for the murder of Nelson Chisale.
Engelbrecht said the court was wrong in assessing the credibility of the state witnesses, especially that of Robert Mnisi, an accomplice who received indemnity after turning state witness.
”Insufficient attention was given to the internal and external contradictions in testimony,” he said.
The matter relates to an incident on January 31 2004 when Chisale arrived on a farm near Hoedspruit to fetch his pots after he had been fired by Scott-Crossley. Two other workers, co-accused in the matter, found him on the property and assaulted him. He was tied to a tree, where Scott-Crossley initially found him.
At trial, the state submitted that Scott-Crossley had also assaulted the victim and ordered two co-accused to take him with them to a nearby lion enclosure and throw him to the lions while ”probably” still alive.
One of the co-accused, Simon Mathebula, is serving a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. The other, Richard Mathebula, whose trial was separated from the rest, died in the Nelspruit Prison hospital shortly after his trial began, and Mnisi turned state witness.
Engelbrecht submitted that despite an earlier finding, there was no common conspiracy among the accused to murder. He said Scott-Crossley could be guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder.
He asked, before the court adjourned for lunch, that the appeals court reassess the trial evidence and make its own findings.
State counsel Sam Ngobeni is expected to argue against the appeal.
The case continues. — Sapa