Percy Khoza‚ who was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend‚ Mary-Lee Macumbe will have to wait until next week to hear whether he put up a case strong enough to keep him out of jail.
While Khoza’s case was initially heard in the South Gauteng High Court‚ he appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Friday afternoon because the presiding judge‚ Cassim Moosa‚ was hearing another case at that court.
Initially‚ it seemed as though Khoza’s lawyer wanted to call one more witness to the stand but after deliberations with the State‚ the witness was not called.
The witness who was to have testified was a friend of Khoza’s.
Judge Moosa postponed the case to March 15 when he will deliver his verdict.
The case will be returned to the South Gauteng High Court.
Meanwhile‚ Khoza remains behind bars.
He was arrested for Mary-Lee’s murder in October 2014. He was 22 years old at the time. They had made plans to meet that day but when Mary-Lee didn’t return home‚ her brother Aryton called Khoza to ask about her whereabouts.
During the trial‚ Khoza claimed that he was not responsible for the gruesome killing‚ alleging it was his then girlfriend and mother of his child‚ Kgomotso Masemola‚ who did it.
He claimed Masemola was in a fit of rage when he found Macumbe at his home in Troyeville. She stabbed Macumbe and threatened to kill his daughter and mother if he didn’t help her cover up the crime‚ he alleged.
Khoza said the two of them wrapped her body in a carpet‚ cleaned the floor and walls and burnt their bloodied clothes. He further claimed that the next day‚ a friend helped him load the body into the boot of her vehicle. They drove around until the car ran out of fuel and they dumped it.
Khoza’s mother‚ Nozipho‚ said she believed that not a single one of the stab wounds on Macumbe’s body came from her son.
“Whoever did this thing was very angry‚” Nozipho Khoza had told reporters during her son’s appearance last month.
She sympathised with Mary-Lee’s mother.
“I know how she feels but unfortunately‚ I cannot undo it‚” she said‚ bursting into tears.
“Now I have also lost Percy.”
Meanwhile‚ TimesLive stumbled across a Facebook page under Percy Khoza’s name containing many pictures of Khoza and his daughter.
The user of the profile had also given some details on the trial and even posted an apology to Mary-Lee‚ in which he claimed he failed to protect her.
Last month‚ TimesLive contacted Khoza’s lawyer‚ Elna Moolman‚ to ask whether she was aware of the account. She said she knew nothing about it.
His friends who have religiously attended court proceedings also denied knowing anything about the profile and provided varying explanations of how someone else could be posting on his page.
The Facebook page‚ however‚ was removed just hours after TimesLive enquired about its activity.
Court to rule next week on whether Mary-Lee Macumbe’s ex was behind her murder
Percy Khoza‚ who was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend‚ Mary-Lee Macumbe will have to wait until next week to hear whether he put up a case strong enough to keep him out of jail.
While Khoza’s case was initially heard in the South Gauteng High Court‚ he appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Friday afternoon because the presiding judge‚ Cassim Moosa‚ was hearing another case at that court.
Initially‚ it seemed as though Khoza’s lawyer wanted to call one more witness to the stand but after deliberations with the State‚ the witness was not called.
The witness who was to have testified was a friend of Khoza’s.
Judge Moosa postponed the case to March 15 when he will deliver his verdict.
The case will be returned to the South Gauteng High Court.
Meanwhile‚ Khoza remains behind bars.
He was arrested for Mary-Lee’s murder in October 2014. He was 22 years old at the time. They had made plans to meet that day but when Mary-Lee didn’t return home‚ her brother Aryton called Khoza to ask about her whereabouts.
During the trial‚ Khoza claimed that he was not responsible for the gruesome killing‚ alleging it was his then girlfriend and mother of his child‚ Kgomotso Masemola‚ who did it.
He claimed Masemola was in a fit of rage when he found Macumbe at his home in Troyeville. She stabbed Macumbe and threatened to kill his daughter and mother if he didn’t help her cover up the crime‚ he alleged.
Khoza said the two of them wrapped her body in a carpet‚ cleaned the floor and walls and burnt their bloodied clothes. He further claimed that the next day‚ a friend helped him load the body into the boot of her vehicle. They drove around until the car ran out of fuel and they dumped it.
Khoza’s mother‚ Nozipho‚ said she believed that not a single one of the stab wounds on Macumbe’s body came from her son.
“Whoever did this thing was very angry‚” Nozipho Khoza had told reporters during her son’s appearance last month.
She sympathised with Mary-Lee’s mother.
“I know how she feels but unfortunately‚ I cannot undo it‚” she said‚ bursting into tears.
“Now I have also lost Percy.”
Meanwhile‚ TimesLive stumbled across a Facebook page under Percy Khoza’s name containing many pictures of Khoza and his daughter.
The user of the profile had also given some details on the trial and even posted an apology to Mary-Lee‚ in which he claimed he failed to protect her.
Last month‚ TimesLive contacted Khoza’s lawyer‚ Elna Moolman‚ to ask whether she was aware of the account. She said she knew nothing about it.
His friends who have religiously attended court proceedings also denied knowing anything about the profile and provided varying explanations of how someone else could be posting on his page.
The Facebook page‚ however‚ was removed just hours after TimesLive enquired about its activity.
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