The men accused of murdering South African footballer Senzo Meyiwa found themselves in tighter restraints on Tuesday, a day after a scuffle broke out in court between them and one of the prison guards tasked to be their escort.
On Monday, warden Ernest Jele got into a fight in court with three accused – Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli – which caught everyone by surprise at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The aftermath of the scuffle was immediately evident, as even the second accused, Bongani Ntanzi, who is usually handcuffed when he comes to court as he is the only prisoner amongst the accused who is not serving a sentence, was cuffed and only had his restraints loosened when he was in the dock.
The other accused, Mncube and Ntuli, were also cuffed tightly, which they complained about.
Warden Ernest Jele, who the prisoners had a scuffle with, said the fight with the prisoners had been a long time coming.
“On the 15th, it was Wednesday, I told them that, ‘no guys, yes, it’s an adjournment but you cannot sit like that [sitting on top on the bench], and when we got down [to the cells], I called out them to stop that thing.
“And they told me that it is not my job and my job is only to escort them, and that’s when I told them they are wrong,” said Jele.
The prison warden said Monday had seen an escalation of tensions between him and the prisoners.
“I said, ‘Ntuli, you cannot sit like that, they hauled and said ‘sizo kushaya if uyasondela’ [we will beat you if you come closer],” he said.
“Accused 3 [Mncube] was closer, I went down like I was kneeling going for accused 4 [Maphisa], then I saw a blow coming my way. The first one was accused 3 [Mncube] and 5 [Ntuli]. I was trying to duck and eventually my colleagues came closer. They were now all standing,” he said.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Adv Charles Mnisi said his client [Mncube] engaged in the scuffle due to the mistreatment they [accused] had received from Jele.
“Apparently what I am getting from accused number three [Mncube] is that when there is adjournment, they [accused] would stand up in order to stretch themselves and apparently the warden does not take kindly to that, and they are saying that each time the gentleman [Jele] is in court he will command them to sit as if the court is still in process.
“And today, he approached them and told them to sit down and if they don’t want to sit down he will hit them,” Mnisi said.
