The witnesses were unreliable, one even constructing evidence to make it seem that Luyanda Mona was angry and had intentionally killed the three men who died after his car hit them in 2006.
The men were armed and Mona had every reason not to stop.
These were among the points in defence attorney Mzuphela Yeko's closing arguments in the case against the former DJ, who must wait until September to hear whether he is judged guilty of the deaths of three men he hit with his car in 2006.
After numerous delays, Mona finally stood trial last month on culpable homicide and hit-and-run charges.
Closing arguments were heard in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court on Friday.
State prosecutor Lyle Prince told the court the state had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and that Mona should be found guilty on all counts relating to the incident in Nompondo Street, Joza, in November 2006.
The witnesses were unreliable, one even constructing evidence to make it seem that Luyanda Mona was angry and had intentionally killed the three men who died after his car hit them in 2006.
The men were armed and Mona had every reason not to stop.
These were among the points in defence attorney Mzuphela Yeko's closing arguments in the case against the former DJ, who must wait until September to hear whether he is judged guilty of the deaths of three men he hit with his car in 2006.
After numerous delays, Mona finally stood trial last month on culpable homicide and hit-and-run charges.
Closing arguments were heard in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court on Friday.
State prosecutor Lyle Prince told the court the state had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and that Mona should be found guilty on all counts relating to the incident in Nompondo Street, Joza, in November 2006.
Prince contended that there had been nothing accidental about the incident. "The first state witness testified that the accused hooted. Why did he do that if he did not see the deceased?" asked Prince.
He said the accused had failed to stop after the incident and had not reported the incident to the police – despite the fact that his home was next to the police station. “Why did he just pass by the police station?” asked Prince.
Prince also pointed out that the second state witness had said Mona was angry after the altercation with the three men and had vowed to go back there and "show them some shit".
"Facts speak for themselves in this case. He drove into the men he had an altercation with earlier," said Prince.
Defence attorney Mzuphela Yeko said the onus was on the state to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused. "We were dealing with witnesses who could not recall what happened on that day. There was construction of evidence by the second state witness to give the court the impression that the accused was angry, and wanted to do what he did".
"Evidence of the state witnesses cannot be relied on. They gave evidence as if they were in different places, yet they were in the same car," said Yeko.
He said, "The accused hooted and gave way to the deceased by driving on the pavement, because he wanted to avoid the incident. What did they (the deceased) do to avoid the collision?" asked Yeko.
"There's undisputed evidence that the men followed the car when the driver gave way to them, and we are dealing with people who were armed, who [had been involved in an]altercation before. There was no way the accused could have stopped when he was confronted by armed men," he said.
He asked for the accused to be discharged and said he was entitled to the benefit of doubt. Magistrate Onica van Pappendorf set down judgment in the case for September.
