Gardener gives testimony during Samwu murder trial
Tadadza Mpofu, a Zimbabwean national, told the court he became suspicious when the visitors wanted to know which room his boss slept in.
LIMPOPO – With the murder trial of the Radzuma brothers having resumed in the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou from March 11, the court heard how the murdered Nnditsheni Magidi’s gardener tipped him off about a potential threat on his life.
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Tadadza Mpofu, a Zimbabwean national who worked as Magidi’s gardener, told the court how there were people who came to Magidi’s residence in Itsani village on February 4, 2019, asking about his whereabouts.
Magidi, an employee of the Vhembe District Municipality and an active member of Samwu, was among a group of people who went into hiding after word went around of a group of people targeting those who were vocal about the municipality’s unlawful investment of R300m in the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank.
“I became suspicious about the people who visited, as they wanted to know in which room my boss sleeps. That was a strange question coming from a visitor, especially because they came to the house two days in succession,” said Mpofu.
When Judge Thogomelani Tshidada asked Mpofu if the person he was referring to was present in court, Mpofu pointed straight at Simon Radzuma as the person who was in pursuit of Magidi.
Read more: SAMWU murders: Witness points out Simon Radzuma as shooter
During cross-questioning, Radzuma’s legal representative, Adv Gundo Lidovho questioned Mpofu how it was possible for him to accurately identify someone who visited his employer’s homestead seven years ago. Mpofu replied that the accused did not cover his face and that it was easy to identify him given certain facial features he then referred to.
The court will in due course hear from more witnesses.
