The last surviving witness to the murder of 12 people in a Khayelitsha extortion dispute bravely began testifying in the Goodwood Prison Court on Monday, using CCTV and wearing a mask to hide his identity.
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However, he had to leave the safety of the separate room and walk into the courtroom to point out the people he saw in person because the camera quality on the CCTV was insufficient for him to see them from his seat.
Yanga ‘Bara’ Nyalara and Wanda Tofile must sit in a floor-to-ceiling mini-cell built in the courtroom, which serves as the Western Cape High Court for this high-risk case.
According to former police minister Bheki Cele, Nyalara was a schoolteacher who skipped bail after being arrested for a cash-in-transit heist.
On 15 May, 2021, the two pleaded not guilty to twelve murders and six attempted murders at Khayelitsha Site B. They also pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
The court heard last week that two of the three witnesses were killed before the trial began, and on Monday it was revealed that they were only 15 years old.
They agreed to testify but paid the ultimate price for attempting to help the court understand what happened.
Mr Z’s reluctance to remain in witness protection and give up everything he knows and loves is explained by their ages at the time of the shootings.
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The court ordered that the media and the general public who were watching the case leave for the in-camera testimony.
The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, who was allowed to remain in the courtroom, stated that Mr Z testified that he was at a shop in Khayelitsha on a rainy Saturday when shots rang out around midday.
He and the two other witnesses went outside to look, but returned to the shop when they noticed a group of ten or eleven armed men approaching.
They waited for the group to pass, then followed them from a safe distance, darting into hiding places to avoid being discovered.
He testified that he witnessed them shooting someone in the face in a passage, shooting people outside Ngkuks bar and restaurant, and shooting at another shop in the area.
Nyalara and Tofile are accused of the murders of Gavin Futho, Mandlakayise Simelani, Thabiso Simelani, Ibrahim Abdulle Ahmed, Asemahle Mayekiso, Simphiwe Mzola, Siyabonga Bethani, Hassan Nuur Mohamed, Thembile Lamani, Mzingizi Mbilini, Osman Wydow, and Ahmed Abukar Omar.
The State claims the murders were motivated by the murder of a Bara associate in a dispute over extortion territory. They gathered as a group and began shooting anyone near the businesses that the rival group was attempting to hold.
Extortion occurs when someone demands money for protection and threatens violence or property damage if they do not pay. It is not limited to the densely populated suburbs of Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, and Nyanga; it has also occurred in the central business district, with breakaway groups fighting each other.
Mr Z said he was certain one of the shooters was Nyalara because he had heard people talk about his notoriety, looked him up on Facebook out of curiosity, and seen him drinking with friends at a taxi rank.
He remembered Bara wearing a blue navy Fabiani tracksuit and black trainers, and the group was carrying ‘large firearms’.
He claimed that Bara, Tofile, and another man were the only ones in the group who did not wear masks.
He also confirmed that the two teenagers walking with him and following the group were killed because of the case.
When he was led into the court briefly, he confirmed that it was Nyalara and Tofile that he saw shooting at people.
The trial will continue on Tuesday, still in camera for cross-examination.
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Court debates use of mask for safety of surviving trial witness
Picture: Supplied / SAPS