The case that caused rioting at Coligny in the North West last year will see judgment handed down on Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte on Wednesday.
The North West High Court sitting in Mahikeng will rule on the murder charge against them, that followed the death of 15 year old Matlhomola Mosweu at Coligny near Lichtenburg in April last year. Mosweu suffered a fatal fall from a moving bakkie while Doorewaard and Schutte, who accused him of stealing sunflowers on a nearby farm, were driving him to the local police station.
The two were acquitted earlier on one of the charges against them, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
During the closing arguments in court last month, the state said the key witness Bonakele Pakisi testified that he was kidnapped and assaulted by the accused after having witnessed the throwing of a boy from a moving vehicle.
On the closing argument, the state requested the court to convict the accused of murder, based on the legal principle of dolus eventualis meaning, that they should have foreseen that their actions could lead to Mosweu’s death.
Meanwhile, the defence argued the balance of probabilities surrounding the dolus eventualis that Matlhomola Mosweu had cooperated and that they could not have foreseen that he would jump off the bakkie.
In closing, the defence requested the court to acquit the accused on the remaining charges that include murder, theft, and kidnapping.
