State says Jeff Wiggill murder accused's story 'cannot be true'

11 April 2016 - 17:26 By Roxanne Henderson

There are so many inconsistencies in the testimony of Thulani Cele‚ the man accused of murdering Johannesburg businessman Jeff Wiggill‚ that his version of events cannot possibly be true. This was the argument made by the state in Cele's murder trial on Monday at the Johannesburg High Court.Murder accused 'did not want to see Wiggill die'Prosecutor JJ du Toit was making his final argument in the case after the state and the defence finished leading evidence.'I was Wiggill's lover‚ not killer' - murder accusedDu Toit argued that inconsistencies cropped up in Cele's testimony because he was trying to hide his true reason for meeting with Wiggill on the day of his death.Wiggill‚ 54‚ was found with three gunshot wounds to the head‚ next to his black Bentley in an open field in Protea Glen‚ Soweto‚ in June 2013. Wiggill was the chairman of bankrupt engineering conglomerate First Tech and was in great financial difficulty at the time of his death.The state alleges that Cele‚ 40‚ was paid R100 000 by Wiggill to take his life.Cele and Wiggill were allegedly on their way to a business meeting on the evening of Wiggill's death. Cell phone records have placed Cele at the scene of the crime.Cele pleaded not guilty to the murder‚ claiming that Wiggill had dropped him off before continuing to the place where he died.Cele testified that his friend‚ who turned state witness‚ Kwenzakufani Madondo‚ collected him from there.But Du Toit argued that Cele was not being honest with the court about the business meeting he and Wiggill were on their way to.Said Du Toit: “He asked Madondo to pick him up in Soweto where he was visiting some friends … why did he say he was visiting friends?”Du Toit argued that Cele had told Madondo that he was in Soweto to see friends because he wanted to hide the arrangement he had made with Wiggill to take the businessman's life.Judge Majake Mabesele asked Du Toit to account for inconsistencies in Madondo's evidence relating to the allegation that Cele was paid R100 000 by Wiggill‚ saying that he could not accept Madondo's version on this point.Du Toit asked Mabesele to consider the totality of the evidence against Cele and use inferential reasoning to find him guilty of murder.Defence attorney Boitumelo Lesomo was still due to deliver his closing argument on Monday afternoon...

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