Two of the five men accused of robbing Basil Store in Queenstown on 13 September 2008 took to the stand last week to explain their version of events.
An amount of R274 310.27 was stolen. The accused are believed to part of a gang which robbed Basil Store in Queenstown and also fired shots at an off-duty police officer. They are facing charges of robbery, theft, attempted murder and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Accused number three, Vuyani Nqandu was the first to testify about his whereabouts at the time the robbery occurred. He declined to call any witnesses to verify his statements and calmly answered questions posed to him by State Advocate Nicky Turner.
He denied having taken any part in the robbery and instead chose to focus on the alleged he says suffered after he was arrested. Nqondu accused the police of grabbing him by the handcuffs and repeatedly throwing him to the ground. When asked why he thought the police acted in that manner towards him, he responded by saying that it was an attempt to hurt him.
Nqandu also denied that he was the person pointed out to him in photographs taken during the robbery, telling Turner that he was not as fat as the person in the image. The court also heard evidence by accused number four, Mzukisi Mvoko, who is linked to the getaway car that was used during the robbery.
Mvoko, whose fingerprints were found on the rearview mirror of the white Mazda used as a getaway car, tried to give an explanation of how the evidence got there. Mvoko in turn denied that the cellphone which was used to call one of the accused during the robbery belonged to him.
An elite police squad, the heavily armed National Intervention Unit, was on hand to ensure that the men did not attempt an escape.
