Johannesburg-The police officer who led the arrest of accused Musa Kekan, who is accused No 1 in the trial of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala told the Johannesburg High Court on Monday that he informed him of his constitutional rights at the scene.
The evidence goes to the heart of a challenge to whether the arrest was lawful.
Captain Phimi Alfred Sekgobela of the Tactical Response Team gave his account in the trial-within-a-trial now under way to determine whether evidence relating to the arrest, search and seizure of Kekana may be admitted.
The court granted that his face not be shown during his testimony, given the nature of his work. It allowed for his audio to be used.
Sekgobela told the court that on the morning of 17 April 2024, he received information about a murder committed in Vereeniging, in which the suspects had used two vehicles, a white Hyundai i20, whose registration he gave, and a Mercedes.
He said he passed the information to colleagues and to a private security operative he works with, and gave an address the vehicles were expected to go to.
At about 8:40am, he said, Sheppard called him to say he had seen the Hyundai i20, matching the description and registration, arriving at the address with two men inside.
Minutes later, the operative reported that a white Mercedes V-Class had left the property, carrying what he believed were the same men, and Sekgobela instructed him to follow it.
Sekgobela said he and other members, five vehicles and at least eight officers from the Tactical Response Team, together with Gauteng traffic officers converged on the vehicle where it had stopped, at house number 34, 8th Avenue, on 5th street or Avenue.
Police approached on foot and heavily armed, he said, switching on blue lights to identify themselves and instructing the occupants to raise their hands and get out.
Asked by the State how the men reacted, Sekgobela said they were co-operative and complied.
The driver identified himself as Musa Kekana and was wearing a mustard-coloured long-sleeved top, he said.
A second occupant gave more than one name.
A third man was standing outside the vehicle holding a wheel rim and identified himself as David Matlou, he too was made to lie down.
Sekgobela said he searched the men for weapons, told them he was arresting the two who had been in the V-Class on suspicion of the Vereeniging murder, and informed them of their rights.
These, he said, included the right to remain silent and the consequences of doing so, the right to legal representation, the right to a phone call to family, the right to challenge the arrest in court, and the right to be detained in humane conditions.
“I believe I explained all their rights,” Sekgobela told the court.
According to Sekgobela, Kekana asked the officers to be gentle because he was unwell and had come from hospital, Sekgobela said.
Asked whether he was all right, Kekana said he was, apart from coughing.
Sekgobela said he called the surveillance operative, Sheppard, to the scene to confirm the men were the same as the ones seen in the Hyundai i20.
Sheppard looked at Kekana’s face and confirmed he had been the driver.
The evidence directly engages the objections raised by Kekana’s counsel, Advocate Riaan Gissing, who has challenged the admissibility of the arrest, the warrantless search and any statements attributed to his client, on grounds including that Kekana’s rights were not explained.
The court will rule on admissibility before the main trial resumes.
Sekgobela’s evidence continues on Tuesday.
