Despite having lied to authorities before, Akhona Mnxeba remained adamant he never willingly gave a statement to police when he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the double murder of two elderly women at a popular retirement village in Sunridge Park.
Taking to the stand to testify in a trial-within-a-trial to determine the admissibility of a confession statement he allegedly gave police, Mnxeba said when he was arrested in January 2020 for another matter, he had lied about his name because he knew there was another separate case against him.
According to Mnxeba, when the investigating officer in a house robbery case interviewed him, he said his name was Sivuyile Sondloko, because he knew the police were looking for him after he had stabbed another man.
In his evidence in chief, Mnxeba admitted he had lied to sergeant John Leppan when he was interviewed, but denied he was read his rights or that they were explained to him.
Mnxeba also claimed the investigating officer in the double murder case, constable Ridwaan Baatjies, had interviewed him before he appeared in the city’s magistrate’s court, but he had not been given documents to sign at the time and was coaxed into signing documents he knew nothing of at the court building.
The trial-within-a-trial was ordered when it emerged that Mnxeba claimed he had not voluntarily given an alleged confession statement for his role in the October 2019 murders of Agnes Burns, 97, and Rosemary Langton, 87, who were found in their rooms at St John’s retirement village in Stella Londt Drive.
Earlier this month, a pointing out statement given by Mnxeba’s co-accused, Mkhuseli Damaneti, was ruled admissible after Damaneti claimed he was assaulted and threatened to give a statement following his October 18 2019 arrest.
Damaneti was arrested on the same day as former caregiver at the centre, Nomgebisi Slangveld, who allegedly provided duplicate keys to the rooms occupied by Burns and Langton.
At the start of their trial, the trio, along with Nyasha Manyange and Luxolo Kruisjan, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery and one count of money laundering.
In his statement, Damaneti detailed how he, Mnxeba and Kruisjan had gained access to the retirement village after they were dropped off by Manyange on October 9 2019.
There they jumped the perimeter wall and went to the door of the frail care centre, which was left unlocked, and then made their way to the rooms of Burns and Langton.
Inside the rooms, Damaneti said, they found the elderly women, whom they tied up and gagged before ransacking their rooms and making off with various valuables.
The trial continues.
HeraldLIVE
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