Grenade accused has gammy arm

The man accused of killing his wife with a hand grenade has said that his arm "can hardly pick up anything".

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Durban - The State’s sole witness to a man allegedly blowing up his wife had lied to police about witnessing him pulling the pins out of two grenades because he has a gammy arm, the Durban Magistrate’s Court heard on Friday.

In fact, Joel Mahoase told the Durban Magistrate’s Court that he did not even have possession of the two grenades – one of which exploded and mortally wounded his wife Lesego – in the early hours of August 31.

Mahoase, who took the stand in a bid to get bail, told the court that while he would abide by his advocate’s advice not to go into the merits of the case against him, he would be pleading not guilty to the charges of murder and the unlawful possession of explosives.

“I was not in possession of those grenades and those grenades do not belong to me,” he said.

When pushed by Magistrate Vanitha Armu to say who had possession of the grenades, Mahoase said he would abide by his advocate’s advice not to answer questions that might implicate him.

When asked about how the grenades were thrown, he replied: “My left arm can hardly pick up anything”.

It emerged that his relationship with his wife had been anything but peaceful.

He had sought to obtain a protection order against his wife. In June he was granted a protection order against his wife physically and verbally abusing him.

In the application – some of which was read to the court – for the protection order, it was revealed that Mahoase’s left arm had been damaged after his wife had stabbed him. After that incident he needed seven stitches.

“She drinks and smokes and every time she is under the influence she becomes violent,” he wrote in his application.

Mahoase’s advocate, Paul Jorgensen, told the court that his client’s wife had attempted “to make a human fireball of him”.

He told the court that Mahoase had previously opened a case of attempted murder against her.

“According to the applicant the deceased (Lesego) poured brake fluid all over him in his car and attempted to set him alight,” said Jorgensen as he was cross examining the investigating officer Constable Dumisane Gumede.

Jorgensen pointed to the marks of disfigurement on his client’s face, saying that these had originated in the brake fluid attack that took place in June this year.

Gumede also admitted that he had been the officer tasked with investigating the attempted murder charge.

“When I was about to effect an arrest, he was the one who stopped me. He wanted to drop the charges,” said Gumede.

Jorgensen, referring to the fact that Mahoase had not pursued seeking the protection order, asked: “Are you aware the applicant stopped the matter from going further as he was committed to working it (his relationship with his wife) out?”

Gumede told the court that from the evidence that he had so far gathered, it emerged that on the night of August 31 the Mahoase had returned home from a funeral. Late that night as their two children, aged five and eight years slept in their rooms, the two began arguing over money.

According to Gumede a “cousin-brother”, only identified as Tsepo, was in the kitchen when Lesego approached him saying that her husband had threatened her.

Mahoase then arrived at the kitchen with two hand grenades in each hand. Gumede testified that Moletse had stated that he saw Mahoase throw the two hand grenades into the kitchen after pulling the pins.

However, when Mahoase was asked by Jorgensen whether Tsepo was telling the truth, Mahoase replied: “No. He’s not telling the truth.”

Gumede initially told the court that the investigation was not awaiting any finger print reports. It emerged that no fingerprints were taken from the unexploded grenade at the home.

When pressed, Gumede said it was possible that “ballistics” officials, to whom the grenade had been handed, would fingerprint the unexploded grenade.

Jorgensen said that while he did not want to divulge his client’s defence, “He (Mahoase) did not pull the pin on the grenade”.

Questioned over why he did not hand himself over to the police immediately, Mahoase, said: “I drove. I was crying all the way. I was shocked. I was completely lost”.

Mahoase was a former colonel in the South African Air Force who had quit four years previously to go into business for himself, securing government tenders and owning a sports bar.

He told the court that during his time in the air force he had held an administrative position with no access to weapons.

His wife was a clerk, who had worked for the air force for the past seven or eight years.

The State is not opposing bail.

Magistrate Armu postponed the bail application and said she would hear closing arguments in the bail application on Tuesday, before she ruled on whether to grant Mahoase bail.

ANA