The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) ruled this week that the state can use hospital records to rest the credibility of murder accused Musa Kekana in the trial of Tembisa kingpin Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, rejecting the defence’s argument that the records were hearsay because the doctors who’d made the entries had not testified, reports EWN.
Judge Carrim Moosa said that when the defence handed in the record, it did so without qualification and it cannot now refer to it as hearsay.
Kekana is testifying in a trial-within-a-trial to challenge his arrest and the evidence obtained. He, Matlala and three others are facing attempted murder charges linked to three incidents between 2022 and 2024.
The state is using Kekana’s previous hospital record to test his credibility. The records show he had previously been admitted to hospital after collapsing in the wake of drinking large amounts of alcohol.
A medical doctor who testified in the trial-within-a-trial told the court Kekana had been admitted and intubated after an overdose on cocaine and alcohol, which contradicts his testimony this week that he was admitted after being poisoned.
On Tuesday, he distanced himself from his bail affidavit, claiming it was his previous lawyer's fault that incorrect information was submitted.
Judge Moosa dismissed the objection, and the cross-examination continues.
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