Advocate Thulo Hoeane
Tefo Tefo
THERE were heated exchanges in the High Court on Tuesday in the double murder trial of Lehlohonolo Scott and his mother ‘Malehlohonolo, involving lawyers and Justice Teboho Moiloa after they failed to agree on what a witness had said in court.
Scott and his mother are facing charges of murdering their Koalabata neighbours, Moholobela Seetsa and Kamohelo Mohata in 2012.
The exchanges occurred during Scott’s lawyer Advocate Thulo Hoeane’s cross examination of Lance Sergeant Seeko who took photographs at the Scotts’ home in Koalabata on 12 July 2012.
Advocate Hoeane asked Lance Sergeant Seeko if one, Phure, was not telling the truth when he testified to the court that the police only went to the donga in Koalabata village that evening.
This was after Seeko had told the court that after leaving Scotts’ place in the morning of that day, the police returned to the house in the evening and then proceeded to the donga.
But the prosecutor Advocate Gareth Leppan said it was not true that Phure said the police never went to the house.
“He just said they went to the donga when they returned to the village. He did not specifically say they did not go to the house,” Adv Leppan said.
Advocate Hoeane then insisted that Phure did not say anything about going back to the house that evening.
He further asked that a tape recording be played so that it could be clear that his version was true.
But the High Court judge Justice Teboho Moiloa joined in the fray and said “indeed Phure mentioned that the police went back to the house before proceeding to the donga.”
Advocate Hoeane insisted that the tape be played, prompting Justice Moiloa to tell him to listen to the tape by himself during the lunch break.
But Advocate Hoeane responded that he could not do that during lunch break because “I will also be enjoying my recess during lunch.”
The judge abruptly adjourned the court for lunch.
However, after the lunch break Advocate Hoeane did not insist on playing the tape recording and continued with his cross examination of Lance Sergeant Seeko.
During the cross examination Lance Sergeant Seeko told the court that there were eight investigators at Scott’s house in the morning hours of 12 July 2012, adding “But only two conducted a search in the house”.
“It is true that only burned bones which were described as ‘sehoasho’ were found in the house that morning,” he said.
Sehoasho is an ash-like substance mostly used by some apostolic churches in their services.
Lance Sergeant Seeko also conceded that the house keys had always been kept by the police.
He said this in response to Advocate Hoeane who had said the first time they conducted a search at Scott’s place, the police did not find any human body parts in the house, but after the house keys were kept by the police the said items were then discovered.
The case proceeds.
