Overview

• A state witness told the Modimolle court an investigating officer threatened him with the words "I'll ruin your life," an allegation the officer denied while describing a cordial relationship.
• The court ordered a trial-within-a-trial that resumes Monday to determine if the witness’s contested police statement is admissible as evidence.
• The witness said he is illiterate and signed a statement he could not read, leading the court to declare him hostile and provisionally withdraw him before recalling him to testify.
• Separate testimony detailed purchases of high-end vehicles paid for in US dollars, with a dealership witness describing two Porsches and a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon allegedly bought after the theft.
• The three accused—Imanuwela David and siblings Floriana and Ndilinasho Joseph—remain on trial on theft-related charges stemming from the February 2020 burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.