Family still in limbo
The frustration of family members of the elderly couple murdered in Soshanguve in November 2011 was growing with yet another delay in court proceedings, this time because two of the defence advocates could not be in court on Thursday morning.
Justice delayed is justice denied and that was yet again the reality for the family of the elderly couple who were senselessly gunned down in a Soshanguve street in 2011 – only for their armed attackers to get away with R3,50 in coins and a toy gun.
Judgement was due to be delivered in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday morning in the matter in which three men face charges of robbing and killing Christiaan Jooste and his wife Catherina on 17 November 2011.
After giving a summary of the evidence delivered by the prosecution witnesses, Judge Lettie Malopa had to stand down until Friday to continue with her judgement as two of the three State-appointed defence advocates could not attend the proceedings.
The frustration could clearly be seen on the faces of the Jooste family who had to take leave from work on Thursday to finally get closure in the brutal murder of their parents and grandparents. They were delivering Russian and Vienna sausages to a spaza shop on Soshanguve Block R on the day of their murder.
The trial, in the courts since September 2012, had been postponed several times and for several reasons, one of them being that the fourth accused, Nkomo Mathebula (31) had escaped from custody after allegedly bribing a policeman.
The court since decided to separate the trials of Mathebula and his three co-accused Victor Simango, 31, Solomon Selekane, 25, and the 28-year-old Collen Molapo, who had all pleaded not guilty to murdering and robbing the two deceased on 17 November.
Simango however pleaded guilty to another charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances for robbing the Joostes on 1 November, also at gunpoint in Soshanguve. However, during that robbery no shots were fired.
Evidence before the court stated that Mathebula, who is still being sought, had shot Christiaan in the abdomen during the robbery on the 17th while Molapo had fired the fatal shot that had hit Catherina in the chest. Both the deceased had been rushed to hospital but were declared dead upon arrival.
Several witnesses testified that they had seen three men approaching the Joostes outside the spaza shop on the day of the killings. Although they could not identify the gunmen, they had all heard two gunshots before seeing the three men fleeing the scene and jumping onto the back of a blue bakkie which allegedly belonged to the mother of Selekane.
Christiaan was shot outside his vehicle and a pouch containing coins had allegedly been taken from him by his killer. Catherina was still in the couple’s vehicle when she was shot, allegedly for attempting to defend herself by using pepper spray on her attacker and having a toy gun.
Testimony before court revealed when the alleged robbers counted the money in the pouch, the total came to R3,50 and one of the accused had said that he would use it to make a telephone call. They allegedly also took the toy gun.
Judgment continues on Friday.
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