MASERU- A Mosotho man from Khubetsoana, Qamo Matela who is accused of murder of his wife ‘Mahlompho Matela, pleads to be at least charged with culpable homicide not murder. Through his lawyer Advocate Lepeli Molapo he submitted that should he be found guilty ofanything, it should be culpable homicide. Adv. Molapo also admitted in court that Qamo battered his wife but he never had the intention of killing her. He said the first doctor found only superficial injuries, indicating that the deceased was not heartlessly assaulted.
Adv. Molapo added that although disagreements are common in relationships and marriages, resorting to violence is wrong. “The case is a clear instance of domestic violence as a husband and wife can be”, said Adv. Molapo. The defense indicated that the pathologist Dr. Phakoane investigations was not thorough because he was directed by the family rather than the police, which compromised the postmortem results.
Adv. Molapo argued that the crown did not call the two doctors to testify because their testimonies would opposethat of one doctor from Lesotho. He emphasised that Qamo did not take a stand to provide expect testimony as he is the one that knows exactly what he did that could have caused the deceased death because he is not a medical expect.
Judge Tšeliso Mokoko nevertheless, noted that since the defense now acknowledges that the accused had assaulted the deceased, it remains unclear how to proceed as the accused did not provide a thoroughaccount of assault. However, Adv. Molapo replied that all the accused did was to slap the deceased, as for hitting her head against the floor and wall is not what happened but the deceased fell and hit her head in the bath tub.
The crown advocate, Advocate Peleha Joala reasonedthat the testimonies of the two doctors from Bloemfontein should be thrown out by the court because both of them did not conduct the postmortem and have caused a confusion in the case, because none of them could definitely determine what led to the death of the deceased.
He added that the testimonies of three witnesses that saw the deceased were reliable as they indicated that they saw scratches on the neck of the deceased which indicated strangulation and the accused knew that he could kill the accused by doing so. Adv. Joala then submitted to the court that the accused be found guilty of murder as charged.
