Africa-Press – South-Africa. Italian-born alleged murderer and arsonist Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, has denied starting several fires at a Tongaat Hulett farm in KwaZulu-Natal in 2017, causing damage amounting to R2.3 million.
Del Vecchio and two others are on trial in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban for allegedly killing botanists Rodney and Rachel Saunders in 2018.
The murders of the Saunders couple and the alleged arson attack are being heard in a single trial.
Del Vecchio also faces a charge of malicious injury to property in connection with the Tongaat Hulett fire.
Two security guards have testified to seeing him at the farm on 1 September 2017, the day it was set alight.
The media has been barred from naming witnesses due to safety concerns.
The first security guard previously told the court that he was called to patrol the farm on the day of the fires and spotted Del Vecchio driving a white Ford Ranger.
“Inside the vehicle, I saw a white man with long hair and a young girl who also had long hair,” the witness said when he testified last week.
On Monday, prosecutor Mehan Naidu asked the guard to identify the alleged arsonist. The witness pointed at Del Vecchio.
The guard said he was patrolling with a colleague when Del Vecchio drove past them.
“We became suspicious of the vehicle and started following it,” he said.
The witness testified that he saw a “white chalk-like substance” thrown out of Del Vecchio’s vehicle. He said a fire was soon ignited.
“After throwing the item, he made a U-turn and drove past us,” he said.
The second guard told the court that he also saw Del Vecchio driving on the farm on the day of the fires. He said a child accompanied the accused on this occasion.
The witness said he saw at least three fires on the farm.
“I also saw him throw a white substance. After he drove past us, we lost him,” said the second guard, corroborating his colleague’s testimony.
Denial
On Monday, Del Vecchio’s lawyer, Bulelani Mazomba, told the court his client planned to confirm that he was at the farm on the day of the alleged arson attack but would deny that he was responsible for the fires.
“He instructs that he will tell this honourable court that the purpose of him being at the farm on that day was to see the sugarcane burning and to have lunch at a treehouse,” said Mazomba.
Mazomba also told the court his client would dispute throwing a “white chalk-like substance” from his vehicle.
However, both witnesses testified they were unaware of a treehouse at the farm.
The witnesses each told the court that Del Vecchio was at the farm illegally as it was private property, and the gate had a sign that read: “No unauthorised entry”.
Mazomba probed the second witness on why they did not apprehend Del Vecchio after seeing him “commit a crime”.
“The reason we did not stop the vehicle is because we had to first report what we had seen to Tongaat Hulett,” responded the witness.
“Why did you not apprehend him and then report to Tongaat Hulett?” asked Mazomba.
“We already had evidence in the form of the vehicle’s registration plate number,” the witness replied.
“So, you deliberately allowed a criminal to slip away?” Mazomba asked.
“Yes, because we already had the evidence.”
The State is expected to shift its focus to the murders of the Saunders couple after concluding its case on the Tongaat Hulett fire.
News24 has previously reported that Del Vecchio’s two co-accused in the murder case are Fatima Patel, 30, from eShowe in northern KZN, and Ahmad Jackson, 37, a Malawian national residing in the Bonela informal settlement in Durban.
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