Waxa waxes and wanes in the witness box

KNYSNA NEWS - Former Knysna independent councillor Velile Waxa was the last of the three men accused of the murder on 23 July 2018 of ANC councillor Victor Molosi to take to the stand over the course of five days, which ended on Tuesday this week, wherein he was first led by his counsel Daan Dercksen and later cross-examined by state prosecutor MP Heyns.

Waxa seemed overly confident at times, even occasionally correcting the Xhosa interpreter, until he was reprimanded by the judge.

His confidence appeared to start waning during cross-examination, however.

Waxa told the court he and Molosi were in different factions of the ANC before he became an independent. He denied ever competing with Molosi as was suggested in an earlier testimony by Knysna Speaker Titi Gombo.

The accused would often elaborate on points where only a yes or a no was required. Judge RCA Henney warned Waxa to stop elaborating on things he wasn't asked, adding, "This will get you into trouble later on."

Echoing the sentiments of co-accused Dumile during his earlier testimony, Waxa said he was framed by the police. Henney asked, "Are you saying this is a fabrication by the police … to show you were the mastermind behind the murder of Molosi?" "That is indeed so," said Waxa.

About his relationship with his co-accused Mawande Makhala, he said they have a father-and-son relationship but denied organising him a job at the municipality or having anything to do with Mawande being employed as a senior clerk despite having only Standard 1 at school.

About calls and money exchanged between him and Luzuko, Mawande's brother and state witness, Waxa explained that these involved a loan and calls about the repayment of the loan and housing issues.

According to Luzuko's initial police statement, this was when Waxa and his other co-accused Vela Patrick Dumile met to discuss the murder and payment for it, but Waxa denied this.

Under cross-examination, while sweating profusely, he seemed unable to explain the exorbitant amount of calls between himself and Luzuko but insisted they communicated about housing and the repayment of the loan. He went from not remembering some calls to being certain what was discussed on some days, only to backtrack and say he might have confused the dates. He also accused Knysna-Plett Herald of false reporting, alleged Heyns was pro-ANC and said the investigating officer Barnard Wilson lied under oath.

When his time in the witness box was up, Waxa complained about his back and asked if he could see a doctor. The court denied him this opportunity, with the judge passing him a cushion to ease his discomfort before moving on to listen to arguments from the state and the defence.

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