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Teen’s
lawyers score from police errors
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The legal team of one of the teenagers accused of murdering Pinetown
pensioner, Errol Stainer, yesterday scored a major victory when a police
officer who recorded part of the accused’s confession admitted to committing
major procedural errors.
Testifying in the Durban High Court, Captain Nkosinathi Ncube admitted he had failed to make Siboniso Ngcoya sign the form that an accused is meant to sign to indicate that he or she voluntarily participated in a process to identify the crime scene and any other evidence relating to the crime. Asked by Themba Mbili, representing Ngcoya, why, if the accused had voluntarily identified the crime scene and the firearm used in Stainer’s murder, the teenager’s signature was not affixed at the end of the form, Ncube said: “I made a mistake.” In August 2012, shortly after Ngcoya was arrested for the murder, Ncube had taken him out of police cells to point out the crime scene as well as the place where the accused had allegedly hidden the firearm. By law, Ncube should also have ensured that the teenager’s parent or guardian was present when he agreed to point out a crime scene as he was under the age of 19. However, on the form where Ncube was meant to have indicated that this requirement had been met, he crossed the section out and wrote “N/A” (Not Applicable). “I did not read that section properly,” Ncube said. Ncube was testifying in a trial within a trial after Ngcoya’s defence had argued that police forced a confession from the accused. The teen’s lawyers want the court to disregard his confession to the police. Ngcoya and another 18-year-old, Siyabonga Nyanisa, are facing charges of murder and car hijacking after Stainer was shot outside a supermarket in Pinetown. Earlier, investigating officer Major Wilson Magubane had told the court that the teenager confessed to the murder and offered to point out where the firearm was hidden. Mbili rejected this, saying his client will tell the court that police had threatened him and put a plastic bag over his head to force him to confess. By Clive Ndou The Citizen 01/11/13 |
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Crimes of the South African Police Service
