Ntwaagae Seleka

Ntwaagae Seleka

A Vereeniging circuit court judge yesterday warned an alleged hitman to tell the truth and stop wasting the court's time.

Judge Max Labe was rebuking Tshokolo Masakale, 26, who is charged with the murder of William Masole Maredi, 43, in his Sebokeng home in September 2003.

The judge was angered after Masakale had said he could not remember what he had said during his cross-examination.

Labe said: "What you are saying does not sound true. You are just wasting the court's time."

Masakale claimed he was uncertain about some of the answers he had given, but then changed tack and said he only knew of Maredi after the investigating officer, Inspector Joseph Zaba, had informed him that he, Masakale, had killed Maredi.

Masakale said Zaba had ordered him to confess that he had been paid R10000 by Maredi's wife to kill her husband. But Moredi's wife, Letta, died earlier this year while awaiting trial in prison.

The trial continues on Monday.