Jub Jub witness breaks down in court
2011-03-18 12:51
Johannesburg - A witness in the murder trial of musician Molemo Jub Jub Maarohanye and his co-accused Themba Tshabalala broke down in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Friday as she recalled the March 8, 2010 accident scene.
Maki Ndlovu, dressed in sangoma regalia, told the court that she saw a silver grey Mini Cooper bump into the wheels of the blue one driven by the accused. She said this caused the blue Mini Cooper to hit a pavement, plough into a group of school children, sending them flying in the air with it before landing on top of two of the youngsters.
Two other children who were also flung in the air landed on the sides of the vehicle in bushes on the side of Mdlalose Drive in Protea North.
Sobbed uncontrollably
As Ndlovu recalled the horror sight of the accident she broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably, prompting the trial to be briefly stood down.
Defence attorney Ike Motloung grinned immediately after Ndlovu broke down, angering family members in the public gallery who asked whether the death of the children was funny.
When the trial resumed, Ndlovu told the court that the silver grey Mini Cooper also spun out of control after the crash and also landed in the bushes.
She said when she rushed closer to the scene she saw the driver of the silver grey Mini Cooper with plaited hair standing near the car and making a cellphone call.
Slapped
Ndlovu, who said she was the first to arrive on scene after the crash, told the court that as she was observing the scene a woman arrived and walked up to the silver grey car driver and slapped him before telling him "he had killed the children".
She said police arrived shortly after that.
When asked by Motloung if she was a sangoma, people in the public gallery protested. The by then agitated Ndlovu said she was still training to be a sangoma. She told that court that she, and another witness Nono Mabote, the friend she was walking with when the accident happened, did not discuss the details of the case when they got home in Protea Glen where they lived together until she gave a police statement the following day.
Maarohanye and Tshabalala are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, as well as reckless and negligent driving after the initial charges of culpable homicide were changed.
The case continues.
- SAPA
