Mlotshwa's mom 'angry, unsettled' about coffin video
7 August 2017
Middelburg - Victor Mlotshwa's mother, Lonia, broke down during her testimony in the High Court sitting in the Middleburg Magistrate's Court on Monday when asked how she felt when she first saw the video of her son being forced into a coffin.
She told the court she felt "angry, unsettled and couldn't speak".
"I asked myself, had the Lord not helped him to get out of the coffin - I wonder what could have happened to him," she said during the sixth day of the trial.
Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen are facing charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.
They were granted R1 000 bail in July after reapplying for bail.
She asked what had gone through the minds of the accused when they forced her son into a coffin.
"What if they had killed him? Would I have known that he was dead?"
Day of incident
She said on the day of the incident at around 09:00 - she sent Mlotshwa to buy groceries. She had given him R2 000.
However, at about 13:00 Mlotshwa returned home with injuries and refused to speak to her.
His eyes were red, he also had a red swollen mark on his chest. There were scratches on both his legs below the knee and his clothes were dirty, Lonia told the packed court room.
She said she was worried about what had really happened to him and thought he was not well.
"I asked him what happened - he just waved his hand."
She said she tried to ask him where the groceries were. She said he reiterated that he could not talk to her.
"I asked him if he was not well or if there were people who robbed him," she said.
She said after a while, Mlotshwa told her what had happened.
Threats
She said when she advised him to go to the police, Mlotshwa told her that the two men had threatened to shoot him if he reported them. They also said they worked with the police, she said.
Last week, the court heard that Mlotshwa had allegedly threatened the accused after they insisted they would take him to the police.
Under cross-examination by advocate Wayne Gibbs for Oosthuizen, Mlotshwa denied the allegations.
Gibbs said the accused wanted to take Mlotshwa to the police station after they found him in possession of suspected stolen property. Gibbs said Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa continued to beg and invited them to rather assault him than take him to the police.
"I know nothing about that," Mlotshwa replied. He also added that Oosthuizen would say that Mlotshwa had a knobkerrie in his possession when the accused approached him.
The matter continues.
