A 35-year-old man who assaulted his father with a rake broke down in court yesterday when asked to explain how the injured 70-year-old disappeared while he was driving him to hospital.

Tebogo Saohatse and his mother Caroline Saohatse appeared in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg where they face charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice after they allegedly killed Ben Saohatse at their Brackenhurst home in 2017.

Tebogo broke down and cried while trying to convince the court yesterday that he did not know what happened to his father, who he assaulted with a rake after the pair had a physical confrontation.

Tebogo failed to explain how a badly injured 70-year-old man with a limp jumped out of a moving vehicle and disappeared into the bushes between Brackenhurst and Thokoza on the East Rand.

Saohatse has been missing since the night of the incident.

The state alleges that Tebogo assaulted Saohatse with a rake in their home while his mother, Caroline, helped him to clean the crime scene.

Tebogo was arrested seven weeks following the incident after he went into hiding. He failed to report his father missing and failed to start a search party despite being the last person to see him.

He told the court that he assumed his father jumped out of the bakkie he was using to transport him to Natalspruit Hospital after he struck him with a rake on the side of his head.

He said he noticed that his father was missing from the back of the bakkie where he had placed him before leaving their home when he was stationary at a stop sign.

During cross-examination, acting judge Prince Manyathi said he failed to understand why Tebogo did not inform the police that his father was missing.

This was despite Tebogo being approached by two police officers who were suspicious of him while he was parked on the side of the road and found the van had blood in the back.

"You were the last person to see your father. You could have given the police an indication of where he could have been," Manyathi said.

"You thought he would be found in a good condition. How did you expect he would be found because you are the last person to see him?"

Tebogo broke down and said he was traumatised by the ordeal. The trial continues.