Questions of how the body of a man was found and who had moved it the day two people were gunned down – allegedly by a group of six gangsters – raised eyebrows in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Tuesday.
Testifying in the double murder trial of the six alleged members of the Spotbouers gang, Warrant Officer Xolani Mbilin said when he arrived at a shack behind a house in Lawler Street, Schauderville, he found the body of Deon Matthys on a bed.
According to Mbilin, he saw Matthys’s body in a reclining position on the bed with his head against the wall and a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
“I looked at the body and I saw a shot to the stomach.
“His head was against the wall,” Mbilin said.
Damian “Oom Jan” Kammies, 24, Warren “Wakka” Steyn, 25, Deilon Makoppa, 32, Christiano “Twakkie” Whitebooi, 20, Kurt Bosman, 30, and Ashton Calvert, 26, have been charged with the murder.
They face a string of charges, including an additional charge of murder, two of kidnapping, attempted murder and three more charges of arson, among others.
They have all pleaded not guilty to a total of 15 charges against them.
On Tuesday, legal counsel for Kammies, advocate Chris Nel SC, challenged Mbilin about the way Matthys’s body was found, referring to crime scene photographs where Matthys’s body was snapped in different positions.
Mbilin told the court that the body was moved for the police’s forensics photographer to get photos of the injuries to the body.
“I did not handle any exhibits, forensic evidence or the body,” Mbilin said.
It is alleged the accused had shot dead Matthys and Mohammed “Mielie” Gamieldien Abdullah while they were looking for Neville “China” Plaatjies, following an incident at a house where Plaatjies had gone to buy drugs.
Abdullah’s body was dumped near the Malabar cemetery with a gunshot wound to the head, allegedly after he was kidnapped from his home in Gideon Street, Schauderville.