'I deleted coffin assault video to avoid a fight with my wife‚' says accused

A Mpumalanga man accused of forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin has offered no apology and showed no remorse as he concluded his testimony in the High Court sitting in Middelburg.

Theo Jackson was not asked whether he wanted to offer an apology to Mlotshwa under re-examination by his lawyer Org Basson.

However‚ he agreed that he and his co-accused could have killed Mlotshwa‚ without anyone ever knowing.

Jackson and his farm colleague Willem Oosthuizen face numerous charges‚ including attempted murder. But they have testified that they had no intention of killing Mlotshwa.

They both maintain they saw nothing wrong with driving Mlotshwa to a secluded area and threatening to set him alight after forcing him into a coffin as he begged for his life.

The two have said that they had caught Mlotshwa in possession of suspected stolen cables. He threatened to burn their crops and kill their wives and children should they take him to the police.

The pair took two videos of the incident‚ one of which went viral and caused outrage‚ leading to their arrest.

On Thursday‚ Jackson had testified that he saw nothing wrong with the video of Mlotshwa crying and begging for mercy.

The only reason why he had deleted it from his phone was because his wife had told him to do so.

"My wife told me to delete the video because my children are often busy with my phone and I deleted it‚" he said.

"But there is nothing wrong with it? You don't see anything wrong with it?" prosecutor Robert Molokoane pressed.

"What would have happened had your kids seen the video?"

"I don't know. I did not want a reason to argue with (my wife)‚" Jackson said.

A copy of the video had been backed up on his his co-accused's laptop.

Mlotshwa has denied that he ever stole anything. He claimed he was attacked by the pair as he stood waiting to hitchhike near the Komati power station.

He claimed to have been punched‚ kicked and beaten with a stick.

In a bid to save his life‚ he told the accused what they wanted to hear‚ he said.

Jackson and Oosthuizen said they released Mlotshwa after teaching him a lesson‚ thought Mlotshwa claimed he had run away‚ opting to "rather be shot dead than buried alive".

Mlotshwa had told the police the ordeal had lasted an hour. The accused‚ however‚ claimed it took about 15 minutes. An official from a car tracking company has since taken to the stand to give testimony‚ which could shed light on that aspect on the case.

Also in dispute is the date on which the incident occurred. Mlotshwa claimed it happened on August 17 while the accused claim it was on September 7.