UNDERSTANDING of the Child Justice Act yesterday took centre stage in the trial of a man and a teenager accused of killing rightwing leader Eugene Terre'Blanche two years ago.
The case is being heard in the high court in Ventersdorp, North West.
Defence attorney Norman Arendse spent the morning questioning Captain Jacobus Rautenbach, head of training at Ventersdorp police station, on whether he and his colleagues knew of, understood and implemented the provisions of the act when arresting and questioning a minor accused of being party to Terre'Blanche's murder.
Chris Mahlangu and a minor are accused of beating and hacking to death the 69-year-old Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader with a panga and metal pipe in his farmhouse on April 3 2010.
Both have pleaded not guilty to murder, housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Mahlangu claims he acted in self-defence. The teenager has denied involvement in the crime.
Arendse said: "Training was not done preceding the murder. Captain, it seems to me that you and all of your colleagues who have testified. If they did get training, their conduct individually and collectively aggravated the situation for accused two.
Rautenbach said he received training on the Child Justice Act on April 1. He said on the day of the murder he did not inform other officers of the requirements of the Act as he was not directly involved in the arrest and "I did not suspect that his right would be violated".
Arendse said the minor was not taken to a comfortable environment and patiently explained his rights and the seriousness of the crime they are accused of and the consequences.
Arendse pointed out that this had to be done in private. He said the minor was not to be put in the back of a police van with an adult accused, he was not supposed to have been stripped of his clothes and taken into custody without informing his parents and getting consent.
Rautenbach conceded that other officers would not have protected the minor's rights as they had not had training at the time.
"[Sergeant Jack] Ramonyane's evidence was he did not even think the accused was a minor," said Arendse.
Mahlangu failed in his application to be transferred to a police station in Pretoria so his family could visit him.
The court heard in October that no pathologist was called to the crime scene, and evidence could possibly have been removed from the body.
Not contacting a pathologist was a breach of regulation and "highly unusual", pathologist Ruweida Moorad told the court. The mortuary manager was also not contacted.
Moorad said fluid resembling semen seen in photos of the body may have been wiped off.
ET minor's rights not protected
UNDERSTANDING of the Child Justice Act yesterday took centre stage in the trial of a man and a teenager accused of killing rightwing leader Eugene Terre'Blanche two years ago.
The case is being heard in the high court in Ventersdorp, North West.
Defence attorney Norman Arendse spent the morning questioning Captain Jacobus Rautenbach, head of training at Ventersdorp police station, on whether he and his colleagues knew of, understood and implemented the provisions of the act when arresting and questioning a minor accused of being party to Terre'Blanche's murder.
Chris Mahlangu and a minor are accused of beating and hacking to death the 69-year-old Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader with a panga and metal pipe in his farmhouse on April 3 2010.
Both have pleaded not guilty to murder, housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Mahlangu claims he acted in self-defence. The teenager has denied involvement in the crime.
Arendse said: "Training was not done preceding the murder. Captain, it seems to me that you and all of your colleagues who have testified. If they did get training, their conduct individually and collectively aggravated the situation for accused two.
Rautenbach said he received training on the Child Justice Act on April 1. He said on the day of the murder he did not inform other officers of the requirements of the Act as he was not directly involved in the arrest and "I did not suspect that his right would be violated".
Arendse said the minor was not taken to a comfortable environment and patiently explained his rights and the seriousness of the crime they are accused of and the consequences.
Arendse pointed out that this had to be done in private. He said the minor was not to be put in the back of a police van with an adult accused, he was not supposed to have been stripped of his clothes and taken into custody without informing his parents and getting consent.
Rautenbach conceded that other officers would not have protected the minor's rights as they had not had training at the time.
"[Sergeant Jack] Ramonyane's evidence was he did not even think the accused was a minor," said Arendse.
Mahlangu failed in his application to be transferred to a police station in Pretoria so his family could visit him.
The court heard in October that no pathologist was called to the crime scene, and evidence could possibly have been removed from the body.
Not contacting a pathologist was a breach of regulation and "highly unusual", pathologist Ruweida Moorad told the court. The mortuary manager was also not contacted.
Moorad said fluid resembling semen seen in photos of the body may have been wiped off.
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