'He was like a chameleon'

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Judge Robert Henney said on Wednesday, 6 September, that the man accused of murdering Tewie and Eurika Human, 27-year-old Tamsamqa Sishuba, was like a chameleon during the murder trial.

During his testimony on Tuesday, 5 September, Sishuba contradicted his plea explanation. In Sishuba's plea explanation, he pleads not guilty to the murder charges against him.

The 72-year-old Tewie was hit seven times with a panga and 62-year-old Eurika was stabbed with a knife in the chest and neck.

Sishuba says in his plea explanation that another suspect, Lebohang Lekoro (Steven), forced him on the morning of the murder in June last year, to hit Tewie with a panga once. Sishuba said he had been under the impression he would go with Lekoro to do work for Tewie.

Lekoro fled to Lesotho after the murder and is still at large.

During cross examination, Sishuba told state prosecutor Christhénus van der Vijver that he could not remember the content of his plea explanation.

Sishuba told the court he ran away when Lekoro began to assault Tewie. He blamed the double murder on Lekoro and said he had nothing to do with it.

During closing arguments on Wednesday, 6 September, Van der Vijver told the court the attack on the Humans was well planned.

"The accused adjusted his version to the police as evidence emerged. Only when he was confronted with evidence of a palm print, he admitted his presence at the murder scene."

Van der Vijver told Judge Henney Sishuba at one stage admitted he held the panga but said that he then dropped it and ran away. "Again his version differs. In exhibit 'E' he distances himself from the garage. Then he mentions two other people and says he saw them fighting."

Van der Vijver said Sishuba wanted to hide his guilt. "He is not stupid. He is not a child. He made conscious decisions. He kept quiet about what happened on the 14th (the day of the attack). The version that he was misled by Steven is not true."

Van der Vijver said the murder had to be a simultaneous attack on both Tewie and Eurika.

"It is common sense that if one person attacked them, it would be difficult. There are neighbours and the other person (Eurika) would make alarm."

Van der Vijver asked the court to find Sishuba guilty on all four charges - two of murder and two of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Defence argues
Louise Ludick for the defence said during her closing argument that if Sishuba was guilty, he would have taken the R200 note that was found in Lekoro's home.

"He opened Lekoro's house for the investigating officer. Why would he do that and not take the money inside the house if he was part of the murder?" Judge Henney told Ludick that the "big prize" was the R14 000 that was transferred from the Humans' bank account into a bank account in Lesotho.

"Someone had to get that money in Lesotho. This explains the calls to Steven to ask him if he arrived safely. Somebody had to go after the money and it makes sense why Steven went to Lesotho."

Judge Henney described Sishuba as aggressive and argumentative and said: "It's lie upon lie upon lie." Judge Henney said Sishuba was not a reliable witness and was not forthcoming.

"Lets accept for one moment that his (Sishuba's) version is true. Why did he not say that he was there but that he was afraid? At the stage of Sishuba's first version Wo Gerald Rabie did not see him as a suspect. Only when the shoe started to pinch with the palm print, did he (Sishuba) come with another version."

Ludick said the state did not prove Sishuba guilty without reasonable doubt and asked the court to find him not guilty of the four charges against him.

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