Cape Town - The suspects accused of killing three children and an adult at a barbershop in Khayelitsha have submitted affidavits as evidence to support their alibi defence.
Athule Mtsha and Sithisa Masiko were arrested on June 8, hours after the murder in Iqwarha Street, Site C.
The investigating officer said they traced the accused by the white Toyota Quantum Mtsha drove on the day of the murder.
During their appearance in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday, the accused’s lawyers read the affidavits, which placed them elsewhere from the crime scene.
Advocate Phindile Vephile, Mtsha’s representative, read a statement written by Anathi Khoboka, a friend who was also arrested with the accused for theft of a motor vehicle.
He corroborated what Mtsha stated last week – that they drove around the entire day on June 8.
“I was in Endlovini and called Athule, who said he was in Enkanini but was headed to Kraaifontein, I asked to go with them and told him that I wanted to celebrate my birthday.
“We first dropped my cousin and friend, who were later killed that day, and then went to Makhaya to get money from another cousin.
“The entire day Athule was driving the car and we drank all day long, even when we were in Kraaifontein. We went to Stellenbosch and on our way back to Khayelitsha we drove back with another vehicle, a silver grey bakkie which was driven by Athule’s friend,” Khoboka said in the statement.
He continued to explain that Mtsha dropped the car off at his Site C home before they went to Hawaii tavern before 8pm.
They all got into the bakkie and after spending time there Khoboka said they decided to go to Groover Park.
“Athule received a call from his mother telling him that the police were looking for him.
“We drove to Site C and when the driver saw the police he drove fast and we knocked into a yard, the police arrested all of us except for the driver, who fled,” the witness stated.
“The police questioned us about our whereabouts, they suspected us of the shooting that happened in Site C and Site B, and told us that the suspects drove the white Quantum.
“At the time I already knew about the double murder in Site B and I told them that Ayanda Siswana and I were cousins, I could never have killed him.
“It seemed that they accepted our information. I was shocked that Athule was charged. I confirmed on June 8, I was with him the whole day. We were not in Site C but in Site B.”
Masiko’s girlfriend told the court that he was with her from 1.30pm until around 5pm.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “State advocate Darren Rudolph requested a postponement for the State to respond to the alibi affidavits, for the investigating officer to analyse the cellphone data that was provided by the defence for Mtsha, and to also compare the clothing items Masiko claims to have worn on the day of the event with the clothes worn by an individual in a video footage at a shopping mall.
“The parties agreed to postpone the case to July 18 for the State to respond to the points pointed above and arguments. The presiding officer has indicated that he will need some time to deliver his judgment in the Schedule 6 bail application.”
Cape Argus