PLAYAS

****

"Sustained,get to the point Mr Zwane" the judge ordered
"Apologies your worship, I'll rephrase, Miss Bennetts do you think that Mr Van Oosten is a bad man?" Daniel asked
"No he's not" Melody replied
"Thank you very much, now back to the night in question, what time did you leave the office?" Daniel asked
"At five-thirty" Melody replied
"And Mr Van Oosten was still there when you left?" Daniel asked
"Yes he was" she replied
"So if the murder occured around six or seven and Mr Van Oosten was still clearly occupied between five-thirty and six, wouldn't that mean the offence might've taken place while the accused was still at work or on his way?" Daniel probed and the prosecutor was on her feet again.
"Objection your honor, I repeat, the witness is not an expert of any sort!" she demanded
"Mr Zwane get to the point please" the judge reprimanded
"Apologies your honor, no further questions" Daniel sat down satisfied with himself.
"Very well then, the court will take a lunch recess and recommence with a verdict" the judge said.

And an hour later the magistrate reappeared "All rise" the usher ordered.
"According to section 83 of 1997.." the judge was saying while Daniel was busy winking at the irritated Nkosi-Miller who looked like she was prone to defeat.
"With regards to everything stated, evidence eximined and all the witnesses testimonies, it has come to my attention that the state has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty and has also failed to put the accused at the scene of the crime.So with all that being considered, I'm forced to come to this conclusion, the accused might've been somewhere between work or on the road when the offence took place.
So I have come to my decision on the ruling and verdict, even though it hasn't been easy given the evidence, still the fact remains, the evidence was not enough to find the accused guilty, so this court finds the accused not guilty" just after this, chaos erupted inside the courtroom.
"Order, order!"the judge ordered and someone at the back cursed in Afrikaans and then left the courtroom. After a few minutes of noise, silence finally fell through and the magistrate continued "Mr Mario Van Oosten, you're free to go, court adjourned!" The magistrate concluded.