My boyfriend killed his son, says woman
10 February 2010, 15:19
By Fatima Schroeder, High Court Writer
Describing her boyfriend as "an animal", a woman wept in the Western Cape High Court as she told how she had watched him pick up an iron rod and beat his three-year-old son to death.
"I saw (him) lifting the child and taking an iron rod. Then he hit the child," said Cynthia Buyiselwa.
She took the stand on Tuesday before Judge Siraj Desai after the State closed its case in the trial for the murder of Adilson Cassamba.
Buyiselwa shares the dock with Adilson's Angolan-born father, Angelino Cassamba.
She gave her version of what transpired before and on the evening of October 9, 2006.
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Describing her boyfriend as "an animal", a woman wept in the Western Cape High Court as she told how she had watched him pick up an iron rod and beat his three-year-old son to death.
"I saw (him) lifting the child and taking an iron rod. Then he hit the child," said Cynthia Buyiselwa.
She took the stand on Tuesday before Judge Siraj Desai after the State closed its case in the trial for the murder of Adilson Cassamba.
Buyiselwa shares the dock with Adilson's Angolan-born father, Angelino Cassamba.
She gave her version of what transpired before and on the evening of October 9, 2006.
She claimed that Cassamba had asked her to accompany him to Angola and, when she enquired about what would happen to the child, he had said he would "not leave behind his blood".
She said that the next evening he had returned from work at about 8pm, seemingly in a foul mood.
He had walked up to his son, who had been sleeping on his bed, lifted an iron rod and bludgeoned the boy to death.
But, out of fear, she had not stopped him.
She had asked Cassamba what she should do and he had given her step-by-step instructions as to what to do with the body.
These had included that she should take the child's body the following evening and strap it on her back, cover it with a blanket and walk to the railway station in Philippi to meet him.
He had arrived, taken the boy's body from her and walked along a dark path while she had followed him.
Days later, Buyiselwa led the police to the body.
At the start of the trial, the pair pleaded not guilty to murder and contravening the Child Care Act.
Cassamba has denied involvement in the murder and has claimed that he was not home when the child was killed.
During the bail application in the Athlone Magistrate's Court, investigating officer Hendrik Phillips testified he believed that Buyiselwa was the main perpetrator and that she had been motivated by her jealousy of the boy.
The trial continues.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Cape Argus on February 10, 2010
Pretoria
