Durban – The Durban High Court has so far learnt that the witnesses who were at the crime scene during the shooting and killing of North Coast taxi boss Dustin Pillay withheld the identity of the gunmen because they did not trust the police.
The witnesses who have come to testify in court have made it clear that they did not trust the police during the times of taxi violence on the North Coast. When Pillay was gunned down in September 2019 at least four people were slain.
The witnesses have told the court that when they made their first statements they did not identify who the gunmen were although they had seen them. The first witness said in early 2019 he had reported an incident to a police officer who had come to charge him. However, he told the officer that he was a victim and narrated what had happened.
The witness alleged that the police did nothing about this. He said it was for this reason that when Pillay was killed later in 2019, he decided not to reveal who the gunmen were when he made his statement. He said the same officer who he had reported an incident to in the beginning of 2019 was the same one in the Pillay matter.
Another witness revealed to the court that there were incidents which related to taxi violence that were reported to the police; however, no justice was served. The witness also told the court that it was for this reason that when he gave his first statement he decided to withhold the names of the gunmen who he had seen, with one shooting Pillay at close range. Witnesses said they ended up making second statements to a superior of the taxi violence task team.
Furthermore, on Thursday an investigating officer told the court that he had called other witnesses who revealed that they were scared.
“My Lord, I did contact other witnesses by cellphone, but they stated that they wouldn’t be coming to testify because they were threatened,” he said.
The alleged gunmen on trial are Cebo Xulu and Thokozani Mthethwa, who are in custody. They are facing 18 charges, which include the murder of Pillay and eight counts of attempted murder. In these eight counts of attempted murder, some of the people who survived were taxi owners.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News