VUYO MKIZE
T HE PARENTS of four boys killed in an accident involving Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and co-accused Themba Tshabalala listened in agony as details of the boys’ injuries were revealed yesterday.
Yesterday, the Protea Magistrate’s Court heard graphic and gory testimony from forensic pathologist James Blair Mwesigwa, the doctor who conducted the post-mortems on the four boys on March 9 last year.
Andile Mthombeni, Prince Mahube, Phomelelo Masemola and Mlungisi Cwayi all suffered serious neck injuries and multiple wounds, and had blood in all three ventricles of the brain, a sign of massive injuries to the head, Mwesigwa said. The boys died after two Mini Coopers driven by Maarohanye and Tshabalala crashed into them in Protea.
Mwesigwa said most of the injuries were on the victims’ upper bodies. The accident resulted in the near-beheading of one victim.
The doctor said he had first examined Mthombeni, who had blood oozing from his ears, indicating damage in the middle of his skull.
“The significance of the blood from his ears implies that something at the base of the skull had been broken. The skin covering the skull had been crushed by some force,” said Mwesigwa.
These details were met by moans from the ashen-faced parents of the boys and their neighbours as Mwesigwa testified.
Masemola, said Mwesigwa, had sustained “brush abrasions”, and an examination revealed that he hadn’t died immediately.
“The abrasions tell (us) that the body hit the ground and continued to slide. His lungs also showed that he had been breathing forcefully – this person did not die immediately. He went through the throes of dying,” Mwesigwa said.
Mahube’s body, the third examined by Mwesigwa, suffered near decapitation on the neck.
Again, the boys’ relatives, sitting tightly pressed against one another in the courtroom benches, let out an audible groan.
While Cwayi did not have any skull injuries, he had multiple other injuries, including a ruptured liver. One of his ribs pierced his heart, the pathologist testified.
Mwesigwa faced the public gallery and drew pictures on a white board as he detailed the exact areas of the bodies that had been injured.
While Tshabalala looked at the doctor gravely, Maarohanye bent his head and occasionally took notes as he listened.
The solemnity in the courtroom was occasionally broken during the cross-examination by Ike Motloung, Maarohanye’s defence lawyer, of Mwesigwa’s testimony.
Motloung argued that there was no way of proving that both accused were driving at high speed. At this Mwesigwa turned to the board to make more illustrations of the human anatomy to explain his findings.
The trial was adjourned until Thursday.