Mdluli
case: Traumatised family breaks down
The inquest into the murder of Oupa Ramogibe has been a harrowing ordeal
of double victimisation for family members who have given evidence.
In a bid to clear former police crime
intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and two alleged accomplices of any involvement
in the murder, the defence lawyers seemingly set out to rattle and discredit
family members as unreliable witnesses with nothing to offer except their
suspicions. They have made much of their faulty recollection of events that
took place 13 years ago.
Ramogibe was shot and killed in February 1999
while pointing out the scene of an earlier attempt on his life.
Mdluli allegedly took strong exception to
Ramogibe's relationship with the policeman's former girlfriend, Tshidi
Buthelezi.
Charges were provisionally withdrawn against
Mdluli and his former co-accused, Colonel Nkosana "Killer" Ximba,
Warrant Officer Samuel Dlomo and Lieutenant Colonel Mtunzi-Omhle Mtunzi,
pending the outcome of the inquest.
Three of Ramogibe's family members have
physically buckled under pressure while testifying.
Postponed
Last week, the testimony of Ramogibe's mother, Sophia, had to be postponed after her sugar levels shot up during cross-examination. She had just told the court that she had urged Ramogibe to tell the police about the attempt on his life, little realising that it would result in his death.
Last week, the testimony of Ramogibe's mother, Sophia, had to be postponed after her sugar levels shot up during cross-examination. She had just told the court that she had urged Ramogibe to tell the police about the attempt on his life, little realising that it would result in his death.
In December 1998, Ramogibe escaped unhurt when
gunmen fired four shots at him while he was driving Ximba's car.
Ximba's lawyer, Paul Leisher, asked her why she
would "lead her son to a killer" if she was so afraid of Mdluli, as
she had claimed in court, and she struggled to respond. After a short recess,
the court was told she could not continue testifying for the rest of the day.
Ramogibe's sister, Justina, burst into tears on
the second day of her testimony last week and told the court she was tired
after Mdluli's lawyer, Ike Motloung, accused her of conspiring with the police.
Motloung's line of questioning intended to establish that her testimony was
based on second-hand information from family members, who were determined that
Mdluli should be convicted of Ramogibe's death.
Ramogibe's other sister, Elizabeth
Ramogibe-Mbuyisa, also cried when she was cross-examined. Motloung had quizzed
her about why she allowed her mother to travel with Mdluli in his car on
various occasions if the top policeman was as dangerous as she had alleged.
Ramogibe-Mbuyisa had told the court that after
her brother's murder Mdluli would often drive up and down the street in front
of her parent's home. "It was very traumatising for us," she said.
Constant threats
All three told the court that they do not know for sure who killed Ramogibe, but that Mdluli's constant threats at the time led them to believe he was responsible.
All three told the court that they do not know for sure who killed Ramogibe, but that Mdluli's constant threats at the time led them to believe he was responsible.
Interviews with two community members who sat in
the public gallery suggested that the residents of Vosloorus feared Mdluli.
Most people in the gallery would not speak to the Mail & Guardian,
but the two individuals relented on condition that their identities would be
protected.
The first said that Mdluli was the talk of the
township long before the media got wind of the matter.
"He terrorised that family; they lived in
fear. People are scared of speaking out against him publicly because he's so
powerful," he said. However, once patrons had sipped a drink or two,
tavern talk in Vosloorus would focus on Mdluli.
Taxi drivers who worked with Ramogibe, himself a
driver at one point, said he was frightened that Mdluli might kill him because
of his involvement with Buthelezi. He was said to have "felt bad"
that he was cheating on his girlfriend, Lerato Sebalo, but he really loved
Buthelezi and wanted to build a life with her, the onlooker said.
When news of his death spread "people
assumed that Mdluli did it", he said.
Tongues wagging
The second observer said the love triangle involving Ramogibe, Buthelezi and Mdluli had had tongues wagging for as long as he could remember. "Oupa's mother was constantly in a state. She tried to convince him to leave Tshidi, but he wouldn't listen. She feared that he would wind up dead."
The second observer said the love triangle involving Ramogibe, Buthelezi and Mdluli had had tongues wagging for as long as he could remember. "Oupa's mother was constantly in a state. She tried to convince him to leave Tshidi, but he wouldn't listen. She feared that he would wind up dead."
After Ramogibe was killed, the man saw Mdluli's
green Golf driving past the Ramogibes' home. He said the family was afraid but
determined to bring the killers to book. Then a family member was raped and the
family was threatened that if they pursued the murder, more tragedy would
follow.
"Things died down after that until a media
report resuscitated the matter a few years back," he said. "Then
people started talking about it again when they met in the street and the talk
spread."
By Thursday this week, only one of the four who
had originally been accused with Mdluli had testified. Dlomo, the man who drove
Ramogibe to the place where he was killed, insisted that he was not "an
agent of Mdluli's" and was in no way directly involved in the murder. Had
he been an agent of Mdluli, he would have been promoted or received a farm or
cattle, he told the court.
Dlomo said he had driven Ramogibe to the scene
of the attempted murder, where two men robbed him of his car keys and gun and
killed Ramogibe. He added that he was not a friend of any of the former
co-accused and had only had contact with them when he performed his official
police duties.
