Even if the two men that were murdered by drowning at Rhodes Park were good swimmers they would not have survived the unfavourable conditions in the dam they perished in.

This was the closing statement by police diver Maria Pollock who retrieved the bodies of Sizwe Tyeke and Zukisa Kela who were killed by a group of about 10 men at Kensington's Rhodes Park in October 2015. Their wives were also raped by the attackers who later fled the park.

Pollock's testimony also contradicted claims that Tyeke and Kela had their hands tied behind them before they were forced to go into the water. She testified yesterday at the South Gauteng High Court sitting at Palm Ridge High Court. Thabo Nkala, Edmor Ndlovu and Mduduzi Mathibela are on trial for murder, rape and robbery.

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Illustrating through a drawing of the dam, Pollock said the search for the bodies was done in three phases and took approximately two hours before the first body of Tyela was found at around 10:45pm followed by Kela eight minutes later. The bodies were about 10metres from the dam's edge and had submerged some 3meters under the water in the deeper end of the dam. Tyeke was only wearing a shirt while Kela had a shirt, an underwear and a jersey wrapped around his waist. Their hands were free.

Pollock said the water was murky with zero visibility which made it impossible for anyone to swim in.

“There were lots of rocks, bottles, debris in the water and we even found a duvet. Some areas were shallow but there was one that had a sudden dip which is where I found them. Even if the two gentlemen could swim but they wouldn't have survived in there because of unfavourable conditions such as poor visibility,” Pollock said.

Trial will resume on 7 November.