Gardener may have saved boss's life, court hears

When the Radzuma brothers’ murder case resumed in the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou on Monday, the court heard how a gardener might have saved the life of one of the officials of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM).

Simon, Percy, and Ndivhuwo Radzuma stand accused of the murder of SAMWU officials Timpson Musetsho and Roni Mani in 2019. They also face numerous counts of robbery.

During Monday’s hearing, Tafadza Mpofu, a Zimbabwean national, told the court that he had been hard at work in his boss’s garden in Itsani village on 4 February 2019 when people had suddenly arrived.

Mpofu was working for Nnditsheni Magidi, an employee of the VDM and an active member of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU). Magidi was one of the people who had gone into hiding after hearing that he was being targeted by criminals. This was allegedly because he and others were too vocal about the VDM’s unlawful investment of R300 million in the now-defunct VBS.

Mpofu told the court that he did not trust the visitors. “I became suspicious about the people [and thought] they might be criminals after they asked me about the room in which my boss slept. How could a visitor ask that? What did he want to do, to know my boss’s room?” said Mpofu.

The court was again packed to capacity with relatives, friends, and visitors. Mpofu testified that he had informed his boss of the visit as soon as the latter had arrived home that day. “I was also frightened by these people because they came to Magidi’s homestead two days in succession,” said Mpofu.

When Judge Thogomelani Tshidada asked Mpofu if he could show the court the person who had come to Magidi’s homestead that day, Mpofu went straight to the accused dock and pointed at Simon Radzuma.

During cross-questioning, the legal representative of Simon Radzuma, Advocate Gundo Lidovho, asked Mpofu how he could recognise a person who had visited his boss’s home seven years ago. Mpofu said the suspect, Simon, had not covered his face when he had come and asked about the whereabouts of his boss, and he recognised him because of his big and sharp nose.

Date:15 March 2024

By: Silas Nduvheni

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