A man accused of lying under oath in connection with the murder of a Rustenburg councillor, briefly appeared in the Rustenburg Regional Court on Wednesday.
The case against Emmanuel Masoka was postponed to August 11, for disclosure of the docket contents.
Masoka was a witness during the murder trial of former Rustenburg councillor Moss Phakoe. He was gunned down when he arrived at his home in Rustenburg Noord on March 14, 2009, he had been away putting up African National Congress posters for the 2009 general election.
He was killed two days after submitting a dossier containing evidence of corruption in the Rustenburg municipality to the late Local Government Minister Sicelo Shiceka. He reportedly told Shiceka in Potchefstroom when he handed over the dossier that it was the last copy he had and he might be killed.
Former Rustenburg mayor Matthew Wolmarans and his bodyguard Enoch Matshaba were arrested for Phakoe’s murder.
Masoka had testified during the trial that Wolmarans confessed to him that he had killed Phakoe when the two shared a cell at the Hartbeespoortdam police station near Brits, after Wolmarans’ arrest.
Wolmarans was sentenced to 20 years in jail while Matshaba was sentenced to life. Masoka later deposed in an affidavit that his testimony had been false, resulting in the release of Wolmarans and Matshaba from prison.
He was charged with perjury for making conflicting statements under oath.
Congress of SA Trade Union (Cosatu) said Phakoe was killed for exposing corruption.
“We want to know why this man [Masoka] had to change his statement, why is the State not appealing and we want to know who killed Moss. We know Moss was killed for exposing corruption. This is what we are going to fight for,” said Cosatu deputy secretary Solly Phetoe.
He said they also wanted to know why Masoka who resides in Mothutlung near Brits went to Magaliesberg for an affidavit that he lied during the trial.
Phetoe flanked by Phakoe’s son Papiki Phakoe, lamented that Phakoe’s family was neglected even though he died working for the ANC.
“It is painful no one wants to take care of Moss family, especially the children, when Moss was a cadre, Moss a councillor, he worked for the ANC before 1994 even after 1994, the worst thing is that Moss was killed after he was putting posters for national election campaign…”
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) paid R100,000 towards Phakoe’s house in July 2015, at the time the house was about to be attached.
Masoka is in custody serving a sentence on an unrelated matter.
-African News Agency (ANA)
