A police captain on Monday denied reports of irregularities in the identity parade of the three men accused of killing reggae star Lucky Dube.
Testifying in a trial within a trial, Captain Mphikeleli Vana told the Johannesburg High Court that he had not seen the three suspects, Mbuti Mabe, Julius Gxowa and Sifiso Mhlanga, before the identity parade.
”I saw them for the first time on the day of the parade,” he said.
The accused have claimed, among other things, that some police officers had pointed them out to the witness, Siphiwe Mlaba.
Mlaba was allegedly also hijacked by the three men and identified them in a parade on October 29 2007.
Judge Seun Moshidi last week granted an application for a trial within a trial after concerns were raised by the defence team.
These include the possibility that Mlaba could have seen the accused in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on October 23 2007 — a few days before the identity parade.
Also, the accused have complained that they were not informed in time about the identity parade and that they had not been offered any legal representation.
Vana, who was in charge of the identity parade, told the court on Monday that the men did not ask to be represented by lawyers.
If they had asked, he would have ”stopped the identity parade and contacted the investigating officer”.
Also, he did inform them of their rights, Vana said.
”I did explain to them,” he told the court.
After the identity parade, two of the suspects told Vana they believed the witness had seen them prior to the parade.
”Two of the suspects made mention to me that the witness saw them in court,” Vana testified.
He said he added that information in his report to the investigating officer.
Vana said he was the only police officer present at the identity parade.
Mabe, Mhlanga and Gxowa, all in their thirties, are on trial for allegedly killing Dube outside his brother’s house in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, on October 18 2007.
They face a charge of murder, two charges of aggravated robbery, one count of attempted aggravated robbery, and two counts of the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. — Sapa