A journalist of the Middelburg Observer followed a woman from the room where the High Court was in session for the Belfast fridge murder trial against Bongani Joseph Ncongwane (23), Irvin Brown Nkosi (19) and Sibusiso Charles Sibanyoni.

The three men were charged with the murders of Mr Koffie and Mrs Elna van Heerden, an elderly couple of Belfast, who were killed by housebreakers during the night of 8 and 9 January 2013.

Nkosi and Sibanyoni both sat some distance from their co-accused Ncongwane who initially wanted to plead guilty to the crime.

On Monday he told the court that he wanted his, statement after arrest, consequent confession and pointing-out of the scene, to be admitted as evidence against him in trial.

Nkosi and Sibanyoni however claimed that their statements, Nkosi’s confession before a magistrate and the pointing-out evidence of both, were coerced from them by police whom they claimed tortured and threatened them.

A trial within a trial was called but it was found during testimony by both this week, that their versions were so full of contradictions, it couldn’t reasonably be true.

The ruling unnerved both Nkosi and Sibanyoni alongside the “fire witch” who sat praying behind them daily since Monday.

The Observer overheard her chastising both accused for forgetting to smear some concoction on their hands, lips and eyebrows before entering court – a mistake they did not repeat.

When their evidence given to police was ruled admissible against them in trial, the “fire witch” flamed up and left court in a hurry, with the Observer on her heals.

She locked herself in a toilet cubicle where she sighed that the muthi wasn’t working followed by a monotone chant, falling foul of the journalist’s vocabulary.

After photographing the woman who claimed to be a priestess of the Shembe church, not a nyanga, she cursed Observer journalists and told them that they would be sorry for crossing her.

Later she sat staring at the journalists while scraping ear wax from her ears and nostrils and rubbing it into her hands before abruptly leaving the courtroom again.

Court personnel told a reporter to be careful “because you’ve angered the fire witch”.

It was however not the only threats leveled against persons in court by the accused and their following.

When Ncongwane started to testify to his involvement in the murder on Tuesday, his co-accused allegedly told the high court translator that “they were also going to strangle Ncongwane’s advocate, Ms Elana Erasmus.