Jeppestown: Photos in question
2008-01-31 17:09
Johannesburg - The trial of 13 people being made to account for a supermarket robbery and a bloody shootout in Jeppestown in 2006 focused on the admissibility of photographs in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday Sarah Marumole, the supervisor of Pick 'n Pay in Honeydew, which the accused allegedly robbed on June 25 2006, identified one of the suspects from a pack of photographs given to her by the State.
He was allegedly one of the gang who made off with just over R40 000 in the robbery.
She acknowledged that she had seen the pictures in a previous consultation with prosecutors, which the accused's defence team objected to on the grounds that they should have been notified and present.
Defence lawyer Robin Stransham-Ford also raised the possibility of the witness being coached or remembering the number on the back of the picture. He objected to the photographs being introduced without the defence seeing them first.
At a physical identification parade at C-Max prison, the court heard, Marumole had not identified anyone because she was scared.
"We are now, in fact, not by intent, ambushed," said Stransham-Ford.
"This smacks of a rehearsal, of a coaching of a witness." But he added quickly that he was not suggesting that this had in fact happened.
A visibly irritated prosecutor Joanie Spies retorted that she was under no obligation to notify the defence, nor invite them to be present at the consultation. Just as he did not have a right to be present at a consultation she was holding, she could not be present when he was consulting a client either.
She said that copies of the photographs had been given to the defence in December already.
Examining the photos
"There are elements that will surprise the defence, but I'm not under any obligation to give them those notes. Cross-examine the witness," she said.
Stransham-Ford then proceeded to ask Marumole to go through the file he was given and identify the man again. After some time, she was allowed to set the file aside so that the case could proceed.
The court heard further testimony from cashier Fikile Lusithi and manager Dirk Buys about how the supermarket was robbed.
Before the trial was adjourned one of the defence team made an application to have a phone card passed to him from a relative in the gallery to the heavily guarded suspects.
The request was refused with Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng saying it must be handed in to authorities at C-Max and given to the man according to prison procedure.
The trial will continue on Friday.
- SAPA