Africa-Press – Eswatini. For the first time since his arrest four years ago, incarcerated businessman Sipho Shongwe has vehemently denied killing businessman, Victor Gamedze, nor did he hire hitmen to have him killed.
Shongwe, who is accused of the murder of the astute businessman on January 14, 2018, yesterday took to the witness stand while he was led in his defence by Advocate, Laurence Hodes, before Judge, Nkosinathi Maseko.
“My Lord I do not know the charge I am facing. I never committed same and I never at any point sent someone to kill Gamedze. ‘Ncaza’ and ‘Tata’ made up the story against me, I do not even know them and never met them,” Shongwe said with everyone’s attention in the packed Court D focused on him.
A visibly calm and confident Shongwe told the court that Mbuso ‘Ncaza’ Nkosi and Simphiwe ‘Tata’ Ngubane lied in their evidence and that he strongly believed someone approached them to use his (Shongwe’s) name in linking him with the offence he was charged with.
According to Shongwe, the reason he believed this was because in ‘Ncaza’s statement, he was quoted as saying “I have been informed by the director of public prosecutions and the police in Eswatini that I am a suspect in Sipho Shongwe’s case.”
Shongwe wondered as to why the police did not tell ‘Ncaza’ that he was a suspect in Gamedze’s death as opposed to the case of Shongwe.
When asked by Advocate Hodes if he paid anyone to kill Gamedze, Shongwe replied to the contrary and stated that he never at any point hired hitmen to have Gamedze killed.
“Did you pay anyone to kill Gamedze,” asked Advocate Hodes.
“My Lord I never paid anyone to kill Gamedze. I also did not threaten Gamedze with murder nor did I threaten and force anyone to kill Gamedze as alleged. All they said about me concerning the murder charge were lies.
“Upon seeing that he was captured in the shooting, ‘Ncaza’ could have even linked Father Christmas with the murder but they opted to use my name,” Shongwe said to a silent courtroom.
He told the court that the evidence by both ‘Ncaza’ and ‘Tata’ was contradictory as they had different versions of their story.
According to Shongwe, on one hand, ‘Ncaza’ alleged he (Shongwe) met them at a traffic circle in Mbabane and gave them two guns while on the other ‘Tata’ told the court that he gave them two guns.
He submitted that the allegation that he tried to be in contact with the duo was far-fetched.
Making further submissions as he presented his defence, Shongwe wondered why he was meant to go to jail for a crime he did not commit.
He accused the lead investigator Superintendent Sikhumbuzo Fakudze as the person behind what he termed false accusations.
According to Shongwe the Crown was trying to solve the puzzle in Gamedze’s murder at the expense of his (Shongwe’s) innocent life.
“Why should I go to jail for a crime I did not commit? There are glaring facts for everyone to see here. The Crown decided to let the real killer go free and arrest me. Why me? My life is being used to solve a puzzle they have in Gamedze’s murder,” a visibly emotional Shongwe said.
He told the court that he was at the comfort of his home at Ngculwini with his family on the day of Gamedze’s murder and had nothing to do with same.
He said it was through a call his brother in-law received that he got to learn that Gamedze had been shot and killed and that the news had already spread like wildfire.
“I pray that one day the killer whom I saw in the video footage does not get away with it as I never killed Gamedze nor did I send anyone to do so. The people who killed him are not here but here I am facing a crime I did not commit,” Shongwe added.
He argued that he was arrested at the Ngwenya Border post on January 19, 2018 under the directive of Superintendent Fakudze whom he alleged had direct interest in the murder case since he personally knew Gamedze and his family.
Shongwe said the manner both ‘Ncaza’ and ‘Tata’ gave their evidence clearly showed that they were allegedly pushed by Fakudze who was part of the conspiracy to marry him with the murder charge.
He told the court that he was a God-fearing man.
He said he did not even have a motive to kill Gamedze as alleged since he was in good terms with him, whom he even shared tea with and that it was Gamedze himself who registered his team Matsapha United for him.
witnesses
When asked by Advocate Michael Hellens during cross-examination on why would two of the Crown’s witnesses, Sipho ‘Tsetla’ Bhembe and Steve Horton fabricate a story against him, Shongwe said the two could do anything since they were Gamedze’s boys.
“My Lord no one in his senses would approach someone who was close to Gamedze and confide in that person that he should assist him in getting someone to kill him as alleged by Bhembe. It doesn’t add up my Lord and this is strange,” Shongwe said.
As for Horton, Shongwe said he never told him he wanted to eliminate Gamedze as he could not have said such since Horton was also one of Gamedze’s boys and refuted the statement in which Horton alleged Shongwe told him “sekusele kancane nga Gamedze.”
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