Henri van Breda will not testify 'at this stage'

[caption id="attachment_202780" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Murder accused Henri van Breda in court
File picture: Esa Alexander[/caption]

Henri van Breda — looking depleted and in need of a haircut — still cannot decide if he wants to be in the witness box‚ but certainly does not want to testify before he has heard what the expert witnesses say under oath.

In the High Court in Cape Town on Wednesday‚ his defence counsel Piet Botha reiterated that Van Breda — on trial for murdering three family members with an axe — would not testify “at this stage”.

He does‚ however‚ reserve his right to change his mind after the expert witnesses have testified‚ even though this could “draw inferences from his conduct” in the eyes of the judge.

The state argued last week that Van Breda could alter his version of events if he testifies after the expert witnesses‚ but Botha said he would have no intention of changing his version of events as described in his plea statement as this would work against him.

Judge Siraj Desai said on Wednesday: “The law is designed to prevent an accused from tailoring evidence. Mr Botha said his client would not be in a position to alter his version of events if he testifies after the expert witnesses — but this is not entirely correct.

“The state based its case on circumstantial evidence. The accused is the only member of the family who can give direct evidence and there is nothing to stop him from modifying or amplifying his version in the wake of expert witnesses.”

Desai said it could “possibly prejudice the state’s case if they are not able to question experts after hearing Van Breda’s testimony”.

He also said the order of witnesses could only be altered if there was “good cause”‚ and in this case‚ there was not any.

Botha had said the availability of the expert witnesses was an issue‚ but Desai said it was “premature to predict” how long anyone stands in the box to testify.

The case has been adjourned to October 9 when the defence will begin leading evidence in chief.

- TimesLIVE