Publications
- Prince Dube is accused of murdering seven women.
- It is alleged he lured them with promises of employment before raping and murdering them.
- The sons of two victims testified in the Limpopo High Court on Thursday.
The rented room of alleged Limpopo serial killer Prince Willard Themba Dube continued to be the main focus of attention in his trial in the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane on Thursday.
More family members of his alleged victims identified items found in the room in Seshego Zone 3, Polokwane. The identified items included garments similar to the clothing the victims wore when they disappeared.
It earlier emerged in court that Dube rented the room for three weeks before he disappeared without informing anyone. Days later, the police came looking for him for "serious crimes".
Victim Mpho Sannah Senyatsi's son, Kagiso Manaka, told Judge Gerrit Muller he identified denim trousers that his mother wore the day she disappeared.
READ | 'He came across as a decent person' - witness on alleged Limpopo serial killer
He later also recognised a jacket his mother wore on the last day she was seen alive. Manaka positively identified a water bottle and an umbrella from photos shown in court.
Defence lawyer Desmond Nonyane tried to punch holes in Manaka's testimony during cross-examination, even suggesting he was first "coached" by the police to pick out the items in the accused's rented room.
Nonyane also put it to him the accused had denied the water bottle and umbrella were ever in his room.
Manaka replied:
He told the court his mother left with the accused from their home in Luthuli after he promised her employment at a well-known restaurant in Polokwane. His mother never returned.
Victim Kgomotso Makhura's son, Thapelo Makhura, identified a cellphone and an ID belonging to his mother in court.
The items were found in Dube's possession when the police arrested him.
Two other witnesses - Madumetja Manamela and James Rammala - told the court about the discovery of some of the victims' bodies.
Farmworker Manamela, who discovered one of the victims on 28 August last year, told the court: "I had to take the cattle out of the kraal for grazing, but they were very, very reluctant to get out.
"According to customary knowledge, when the cattle behave like that, it means there is a dead body in the bushes.
"I managed to force them out of the kraal and herded them for grazing. Along the way, they stopped and wanted to turn back. When I checked around, I discovered the dead body of a woman. I immediately called my employer."
The trial was adjourned to next Tuesday.
