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MJ was a reckless driver'

15/06/2010 00:00:00 LINDA JELE

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MBABANE – The late political activist Musa ‘MJ’ Dlamini was said to have been a reckless driver.

Dlamini’s brother in-law Jeffrey Simelane said Dlamini was a fast and reckless driver.

He said that was the reason why he made sure the car was in good condition when he gave it to him.

He said he checked the vehicle’s engine to make sure it was in good order. Simelane said he made sure there was a spare wheel and a jack in the car.

He said when he went to Lozitha, the crime scene, he noticed that there were marks showing that a vehicle had veered off the road. He said he suspected that Dlamini might have been involved in an accident.

"I suspected that the car got a car puncher and veered off the road when I arrived at the crime scene. However, I was disappointed when I was told that the vehicle was suspected to have been carrying explosives and they exploded inside the car," Simelane said.

...damaged car was gift for my wife - Simelane

MBABANE – Crown witness Jeffrey Simelane has said the vehicle which was damaged during the alleged Lozitha bombing attempt, was a gift to his wife.

He informed the court that he was at pains that his wife’s vehicle was damaged to such an extent. He claimed that when he lent Dlamini the vehicle, it was in good condition. He said he was very shattered when he discovered that it had been damaged in such a manner. "I loved my vehicle so much and it was beautiful. It pains me a lot to see such a skeletal of my car. I was still trying to develop myself in the taxi business. However it is now futile," he said.

He alleged that his wife and children cried when they saw the damaged vehicle at the police station. He said it was better when compared to the one he was driving.

He also claimed that when he found the vehicle at the Sigodvweni police station, there was some human flesh scattered on it.

Jeffrey asks cops, warders and Mbedzi to strip

MBABANE – Crown witness Jeffrey Simelane stunned the court, when he requested police officers, correctional services staff and Amos Mbedzi to remove their tops so that he could identify a certain person.

Simelane had been asked by the DPP Mumcy Dlamini to look around the court to identify one of the people he had seen at Kai Kai. Dlamini had asked Simelane if he could recognise the male person he found asleep when he entered the room allegedly booked by Musa ‘MJ’ Dlamini at Kai Kai.

He told the court that he could not recognise the person because when he eventually awoke at Kai Kai, he just sat on the bed and faced down.

He said he had not paid much attention to the person because he did not know him and had nothing to do with him.

Simelane said he could only recognise the person through his unclothed upper body.

He asked the court if he would be allowed to have the people who were seated in the dock to remove their tops.

Seated in the dock was Amos Mbedzi and correctional services staff who escorted the accused. Plain clothed police officers were also seated in the dock as the court room was almost full.

Mbedzi’s lawyer Leo Gama objected to such and argued that it would be unfair to his client because he was the only accused person seated in the dock. He said the other people were police officers and staff members of the correctional services.

Unfair

"This would be an unfair dock identification which the court should not allow, because the witness had said he could not clearly identify the person as he was facing down," Gama said.

Justice Bheki Maphalala however insisted that the people should remove their tops. He said there was no problem because Gama would be able to cross examine Simelane to verify how he recognised the person.

"My Lord, the identification parade would not be in compliance with parade rules, because the witness knows who the accused person is among the people in the dock. A person identifying a suspect should not have seen the people before a parade is conducted," Gama said.

Maphalala adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes and met Gama and the DPP in his chambers.

On return, he said he was not aware that other people in the dock were in uniform.

He then disallowed the DPP’s application.