The judge insisted that the accused be brought back to the court immediately.
The man accused of setting fire to the hijacked Usindiso building in Johannesburg walked out of court as the state questioned him over his “contradictory” evidence.
The trial continued on Wednesday, with Sthembiso Lawrence Mdlalose back in the hot seat at the Gauteng High Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.
Mdlalose faces multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, and arson, in connection with the fire that gutted the Marshalltown building and claimed the lives of 77 people in August 2023.
While he admitted to starting the fire, Mdlalose recently changed his version of events during the trial, despite his confession statement having been admitted as evidence.
Usindiso building fire trial continues
On Wednesday, Mdlalose insisted that he had only confessed to starting the fire to avoid being homeless.
“You want me to continue and waste time on something that I just said was a lie.”
“The truth is: I made this illusion so that I can get arrested because I wanted to run away and escape being on the street, being shelterless. I thought prison would give me a second chance.
“As I’ve seen people going to prison, come back, they’ve got education, they’ve got degrees. So that’s one thing that I had on my mind,” he said.
Last week, the accused claimed he was hanging out with friends on the third floor of the Usindiso building when he realised that it had caught fire on 31 August 2023.
He also testified that he had gone out to gamble prior to the fire.
However, state prosecutor Thami Mpekana highlighted discrepancies in his evidence, leading to a tense exchange.
Mpekana: “I am putting it to you that on that day when the building got burned, you were there.”
Mdlalose: “You are telling me that?”
Mpekana: “I’m telling you that yes”.
Mdlalose: “That is up to you to believe; me, I’m telling you I was not in that building when it happened.”
The accused added that the prosecutor’s version is “true” if Mpekana is a “prophet.”
Accused storms out of court
He grew increasingly frustrated as Mpekana questioned him about lying under oath regarding contradictory statements, saying the cross-examination was “turning into kind of a debate”.
“This is just a lie. I said to him yesterday [and] last week, it was just a lie.”
He then stood up and walked out of the courtroom.
When the judge asked what was happening, Mpekana said, “I have no idea what is happening. He has removed himself from the proceedings, and it is unfortunate that the state does not have anybody to cross-examine.”
His lawyer, Leonard Cinti, said he would attend to the matter and requested an adjournment.
But the judge insisted that the accused be brought back into the courtroom immediately.
The case has been postponed to October.
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