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By Anita Dangazele
- Security guard Bethuel Mzamo Cele testified that gunmen shouted “die, you dog” during the alleged 2022 attack on taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni.
- A judge blocked the state from showing CCTV footage of the shooting until it can prove the footage is authentic.
A security guard broke down in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday, describing the moment gunmen armed with AK-47s opened fire at a Centurion golf estate, shouting “die, you dog” as they attacked.
Bethuel Mzamo Cele was the state’s first witness in the trial of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and his four co-accused, his wife Tsakane Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Nzama, who face a combined 25 charges over three alleged contract killings between 2022 and 2024.
Cele told the court that on the night of 10 August 2022, he was on duty at the Centurion Golf Estate when he noticed a white BMW behaving strangely before it stopped near a red Ferrari and a white VW Golf 7. Two armed men got out and opened fire on the Golf 7, repeatedly shooting at the vehicle.
“I saw that he had been shot in the stomach. I could see his intestines protruding before he climbed back into the BMW through the window,” Cele told the court.
He said he returned fire with all 15 rounds from his service pistol, believing he struck one of the attackers.
“If I am thinking about that incident, it is like it happened yesterday,” he said.
The attack allegedly targeted taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni, one of three people, along with actress Tebogo Thobejane and music producer DJ Vettys, that the state alleges Matlala ordered to be shot between August 2022 and January 2024.
Judge Cassim Moosa ruled that the state could not yet show CCTV footage it says captured the shooting, after Matlala’s lawyers objected that the footage had not been properly authenticated.
“I’m not going to allow the video footage to be led without the authentication,” Moosa said, telling the state it could call a witness to authenticate the footage or continue with other evidence first.
The footage is considered central to the state’s case, since it aims to place Matlala’s alleged hitmen at the scene.
The trial, expected to run for 30 days, continues with further cross-examination of Cele.
Pictured above: Vusumuzi Cat Matlala and his wife in court on Tuesday.
Image source: Supplied
