A witness testifying in the case of two men accused of murdering a man with a shotgun received two calls during a tea break at the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday threatening to kill him and his children if he continued testifying.
Yanga Macgwene, 22, told the court he had received a call on his cellphone on Wednesday evening, with the caller telling him that if he went to court on Thursday his children would be killed.
“They said I must not come to court or they would kill my kids – they know where they are,” he said.
On Thursday during the morning tea break, Macgwene received a further two calls threatening him and his family.
This was as he was in court testifying against the two men accused of kidnapping and murder.
“In the first call they said I must say I don’t know the accused and in the second they said if I love my kids and myself then I must go ahead [and testify] but they will kill me with my family,” Macgwene said.
Macgwene was giving evidence against Thokozani Namete, 22, and Mabhuti Kilani, 33, who have been charged with the kidnapping of Mzwanele Hojisi and the murder of Zamumzi Sotyele.
They face additional charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
They have pleaded not guilty.
It is alleged that on September 3 2016, Namete, Kilani and a third person who has since turned state witness, armed with shotguns and eight rounds of ammunition, stormed a house in Mkhombe Street, Motherwell.
The state claims the men then forced Sotyele and Hojisi into a vehicle and drove them to a bushy area near NU30, where they forced the men to lie on the ground with guns pointed at their heads.
Sotyele was shot dead, while Hojisi pretended to be dead after being shot.
The accused allegedly left but returned a short while later and, on realising that Hojisi was still alive, stabbed him several times.
Hojisi again pretended to be dead before fleeing to a tavern in NU13 and calling for help.
On Thursday, Macgwene told the court that on the night of the murder Namete had called him while he was at a tavern in Motherwell.
Namete allegedly convinced Macgwene to meet him near a primary school in NU10 and take him to a different tavern.
When Macgwene and his younger brother arrived, Namete, Kilani and three other people had got into the car and driven off.
“The last person to get into the car had a big gun and said he would tell me where to go.
“I was shocked and shivered but I started the car and then we drove.
“[When we got to the place] all five men alighted from the vehicle and went to the bush.
“[Namete] said I must wait for them. [Namete] had the firearm. It was a big gun.
“Out of fear I waited because they know where I stay and they had this big gun. “They went into the bush. “About 30 minutes later Namete, Kilani [and a third person] returned.
“[Namete] said I must drop them off at NU10.”
Macgwene said he had received a number of recordings earlier in 2019 containing threats to his life and to two of the state’s other witnesses.
“They said we must be killed so this case can end.”