- The Western Cape High Court has shown footage from the scene where the body of 12-year-old Sibusis Dakuse was found.
- Hout Bay Boy was found on a bed of reeds with his feet and legs pushed together and his arms under his body.
- His clothes were scattered at intervals from his body, among the lilies, reeds, and wild vines.
The lifeless body of 12-year-old Sibusis Dakuse was laid out neatly on a bed of brown dried reeds – lying on his stomach with his legs tightly pressed together and his feet turned to the right – when he was finally found after he went missing in Haut- Bay in February 2020.
Footage of the scene where Sibusis’ body was found was played in the Western Cape High Court.
The reeds around him seemed to form a cradle, protecting him from the wind.
The tidiness of the place where he was found contrasted with the scenes of disarray further on, where blue sweatpants lay in one place, a navy blue shirt tossed between the reeds, a broken lily stem partially obscuring the red, black and green. sandals are slippery. Two pieces of toilet paper in balls were found on the ground.
A pair of white underpants with the words “Happy” on the waistband lay crumpled in the distance.
As prosecutor Nadia Ajam finished the video recorded by one of the investigators, there was silence in the Western Cape High Court, with no one speaking or moving for almost a minute.
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And then people began to move in their seats, looking at each other and at the accused Marvin Minaar.
Most of Sibusis’ family decided to leave the court when the video was shown and entered into evidence during Minnaar’s kidnapping, rape and murder trial.
They had been warned that it was going to be tough and Judge Constance Nziweni seemed to have braced herself for what was to come.
Sibusiso went missing on 26 February 2020 and his body was found two days later in reeds off Manchester Road in Hout Bay.
Minnaar has pleaded not guilty and has chosen to remain silent during the trial, meaning the state cannot rely on his testimony as the trial pieces together what may have led to Sibusis’ tragic death.
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He is known to have been a mentor to basketball enthusiasts in the tight-knit community of Imazama Yetu, a suburb of Hout Bay.
So far, forensic pathologist Dr. Bronwyn Inglis has testified that Sibusiso was most likely strangled and raped.
The results of the rape kit did not show any DNA other than Dacuse’s.
The day after the death is usually very difficult for families to listen to, and in this case they had to hear a discussion of the injuries on Sibusis’ body that could be related to suspected rape.
All this time Minaar looked straight ahead and listened.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
