Jub Jub lawyer warns on witness

2011-05-23 18:37

Johannesburg - Musician Molema "Jub Jub" Maarohanye's defence lawyer on Monday said he would ask the court to be careful when considering the evidence given by metro police officer Constable Velemina Mojela during his murder trial.

"When you first testified you had no documents, it was all in your head," Ike Motloung said to Mojela in the Protea Magistrate's Court.

"The statement you made had no date on."

He asked Mojela if she remembered if she had made the statement before or after December 2010. She said she did not.

"With time the memory weakens...I want to know when your statement was taken so that I can assess how weak or strong your memory was," he told her.

Maarohanye and co-accused Themba Tshabalala were allegedly drag-racing when one of their Mini Coopers ploughed into a group of school children on Mdlalose Drive in Protea North on March 8, last year.

Four children were killed in the accident and two others suffered severe injuries that included brain damage.

Maarohanya and Tshabalala are facing charges of murder and attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The case was postponed until Tuesday when a third witness will take the stand.

Frustration

An ex-South African Police Service officer was cross-examined after Mojela on Monday.

Renton Tsego was the police officer who received the results from the metro police officers who had tested Maarohanye and Tshabalala for drugs and alcohol.

He received the documents and put them away in the safe, he testified. That was his only involvement. Tsego was briefly asked questions by the state prosecutor and the defence lawyers.

Earlier in the day Motloung said Mojela was hiding something.

Mojela had testified that she had arrived at work at 17:55 and drug and alcohol tests on Maarohanye and Tshabalala were completed by 18:15.

Mojela had brought the log book from the day of the accident to court with her.

She said she had not checked at what time she started the drug and alcohol tests but had recorded the time they were completed.

Mojela explained to the court how the drug and alcohol tests were taken and what apparatus was used.

Motloung was cross-examining her on her evidence given in terms of the timeline in which tests were done on Maarohanye and Tshabalala.

The evidence was to prove that the two men had tested positive for drugs and alcohol.

Family members of the children killed in the accident showed apparent frustration with Motloung's question.

Motloung said Mojela was contradicting herself as he cross-examined her.

State prosecutor Raymond Mathenjwa objected to Motloung's line of questioning as he said it was not relevant.

- SAPA