Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Mashudu Munzhelele has ruled to admit the confessions of Onthatile Sebati and her two fellow accused who are the alleged hitmen.
Munzhelele in reading her conclusions in court earlier today said she was of the opinion that the confessions obtained from the three accused by the police days after their arrests in 2021, were made freely and voluntarily.
She said she had decided to allow the confessions into evidence as she believed that the police had not violated their constitutional rights in obtaining their confessions and had followed procedure as required.
This was despite assertions by the accused’s defence counsel that some were not told their legal rights to remain silent or have a legal representative available.
Munzhelele stressed that no evidence had been brought to sway her to a different conclusion.
She said the confessions would be assessed together with the other evidence to be led by the state and investigating teams.
The trial looking into the murder of Mmakau police constable Solomon Lucky Sebati 41, his wife Mmatshepo 40, 3-year-old Quinton and 18-year-old Tshegofatso, who was seven months pregnant, in their home on December 6 2016, was stalled after defence counsels for all of the accused informed the court they would be challenging the admissibility of the confessions.
According to the first accused Tumelo Mokone, he alleged that his confession was obtained in the absence of a legal representative, and he was not given an opportunity to consult with a lawyer beforehand.
Sebati on the other hand alleged that her legal rights were not explained and that she had been coerced into confessing, and police had misled into making her statement.
Mokone's cousin and co-accused Kagiso Mokone also claimed he had been assaulted and forced to confess to playing a role in the crime.
As a result a trial within a trial was initiated to determine the admissibility of the confessions.
With the matter postponed to the end of November, Sebati's defence indicated that an application would also be sought to have the bail amount reduced to R3 000.
The defence told the court that the initial amount of R10 000 was said to be too high for the family to pay however a relative stated they would be able to pay a reduced amount with the strict bail conditions to remain.
However due to an objection from the state it was decided that a separate bail application was to be held to determine if bail would be reduced.
The trial was subsequently postponed to November 28.
Pretoria News