A Baviaanspoort prisoner who allegedly attacked and almost killed two nurses at the jail three years ago had acted rationally at the time of the offence, a psychiatrist told the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
Dr Herman Pretorius, until recently a state psychiatrist, told acting Judge Solly Sithole there were no signs that Thabo Amos Masinga (22) had suffered from psychosis or had not been in touch with reality during the incident in March 2005.
Masinga has pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including attempted murder, rape, indecent assault, kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
He claimed he was not criminally liable for his actions due to the use of dagga and cocaine and had no recollection of the incident, although he ”could not see himself doing such a thing”.
It is alleged that Masinga, who was an inmate at Baviaanspoort prison’s youth section at the time, had overpowered the two nurses and took them to a storeroom, where he raped one of them before slitting both women’s throats with a knife. He allegedly then stole their possessions.
Pretorius and two colleagues drew up a report, finding Masinga fit to stand trial, after the court referred the accused for psychiatric observation.
The psychiatrist testified that Masinga had abused different substances, but there was no indication that he had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol to such an extent that he was unable to act rationally at the time of the incident.
He said substance abuse could cause psychosis, but there was no sign that Masinga was psychotic or that he was not in touch with reality.
”I could find no signs that he acted irrationally at any time. I concluded that he was acting rationally at the time and was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his deeds and act accordingly and that he could contribute meaningfully to his defence,” Pretorius said.
Masinga’s alleged memory loss was not caused by psychosis or brain damage, nor was it because of drugs or alcohol. The only other explanations were trauma as a result of the incident or that Masinga ”was simply not telling the truth”, he added.
One of the nurses last year testified that Masinga had threatened to decapitate her before slitting her throat.
She said Masinga had told her and her seriously injured colleague they could ”die in peace” before locking them in a storeroom, where a prison warder later found them naked and bleeding. – Sapa