Phala Phala: Magistrate rejects prosecution's application to declare State witness recalcitrant

The magistrate presiding over the Phala Phala burglary trial has rejected the prosecution’s application to declare a State witness recalcitrant.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly drove the robbers from Limpopo to Gauteng a few days after the break-in at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm.

Imanuwela David, along with siblings Froliana and Ndilinasho Joseph, are currently on trial at the Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo.

In a statement given to police, the driver claimed he was paid 30,000 US dollars in cash by the alleged robbers.

However, when testifying in court in September, he said they had actually paid him R7,000.

This discrepancy led the State prosecutor to apply for section 189 of the Criminal Procedure Act to be invoked against his own witness.
This section deals with uncooperative witnesses and can result in a fine or direct imprisonment.

In making his ruling, Magistrate Peter Manthate said there was no basis to conclude that the witness had been uncooperative.

"There are no basis to declare Mr [the driver] a recalcitrant witness. The fact that his viva voce [oral] evidence may contradict what is contained in the statement he made to police doesn’t mean he is not cooperating as envisaged in section 189(1) of the act."