'I thought he was a baboon'
2006-12-05 12:04
Polokwane - A Musina farmer fired only two shots at what he said he thought was a baboon, killing instead a Zimbabwean man.
This was the evidence of Superintendent Willem Visser in the case against Jewell Crossberg, 52, in a local court.
Last week, three witnesses told how Crossberg fired more than two shots at a group of Zimbabweans. The witnesses were unable to say how many shots were fired.
Crossberg is facing a charge of murder after the death of Jealous Dube, 29, who died on June 21 2004.
Visser said in court that ballistic tests showed only two shots were fired with Crossberg's .38 Special revolver.
Visser said Dube was killed from a direct shot. "It was not a stray bullet that hit him," he said.
Dube was shot in the left armpit.
The ballistics report also showed that Dube was not looking in the direction from which the shots were fired. His left side was hit first.
Visser also testified that a revolver was not an appropriate weapon for hunting animals.
Advocate Jaap Cilliers SC on behalf of Crossberg, said during cross-examination that Crossberg was not hunting baboons with the revolver.
"The baboons cause a lot of problems on the farm. He only wanted to scare off the animals with the shots."
Visser then agreed that a revolver would have been sufficient to scare off the animals.