Kimberley – The Kimberley man accused of murdering his girlfriend by allegedly stabbing her to death with an assegai last year, maintained on Tuesday that he “did not know” what happened during the incident.
Shadrack Tshite Boikanyo, 45, is charged with the murder of his girlfriend, 27-year-old Lerato Olifant, who was brutally stabbed to death with an assegai in a stranger’s house on March 8 2015, a day which is celebrated as International Women’s Day.
The State alleges that Olifant was forced into a vehicle by Boikanyo after he had pulled her out of a house in Sechoareng Street at around 7am on the morning of the incident, before she managed to jump out of the vehicle and run into another house in the street, in an attempt to escape from Boikanyo.
She was, however, apparently followed by the accused, who witnesses said was carrying a sharp object. Boikanyo was then seen stabbing the deceased numerous times by more witnesses
She was stabbed in her chest, arm and leg. Her lung and liver were penetrated, while the “sharp object” also penetrated and exited her arm.
Boikanyo on Tuesday concluded his time on the witness stand, after being cross-examined by the State
He told the court that he was driving in Sechoareng Street on the morning of the incident, when he saw Olifant and another man coming out of the back door of a house, holding and kissing each other like a “husband and wife”.
“I was under pressure from my feelings. I felt shocked, heartbroken and started to shiver, not knowing what to do. Then something came into my mind – I had to go to Lerato and take her to her mother so that her mother could see what she had done,” Boikanyo told the court.
He added that he found it “difficult for his feet to be on the ground” when he got out of the car.
“I approached them, but it was like it was not true like something was happening but I was not part of the action. When I looked at her, her face looked otherwise and not like the face of the Lerato I was used to.
“I was confused but remember approaching them, when the man said ‘ons het niks gemaak’ (we did nothing). I did not respond, as I was confused. At the time, my only intention was to leave with Lerato.
“I approached Lerato, held out my arm to her and asked her to leave with me. She took my hand and pointed with her other hand into the house and said ‘let me show you where I slept’. I followed what she said but was not concentrating. She pointed to a mattress and said ‘I slept here’, but another couple was lying there.
“I felt tension in my head, like I could scream, and the tears rolled down my face. We went towards the car, with Lerato holding my hand. I climbed in behind the steering wheel and Lerato also got in,” Boikanyo explained.
He then proceeded to tell the court that he realised he was crying and felt like “things just stopped there”.
“Sitting behind the wheel, I was crying and shaking. I realised I did not have my full senses. I thought this could not be true. I then saw Lerato was not in the car anymore. Something dark, like a shadow, passed before my eyes to the side of the car I saw Lerato appearing there but do not know where she ended up. From there I do not know if I drove away or what happened,” Boikanyo testified.
He went on to say that he “regained consciousness” and found himself, covered in blood, driving next to Bloemanda on the Barkly West road.
“I was crying, very heartbroken and shivering. There was a smell of blood. I touched myself and could see my hand was full of blood.”
He claimed that he then went to his cousin’s house, where he received a call “informing” him that Olifant was dead. Boikanyo concluded his testimony by answering “I do not know” a number of times after several witness accounts – placing him at the scene, taking the assegai from his boot, going into the house, stabbing Olifant and even threatening bystanders outside the house – were put to him by the State prosecutor.
When asked “Who killed Olifant?”, Boikanyo answered by saying that “at the time I did not know but later heard it was me”.
He was further asked if he had accepted that he had killed Olifant, to which he answered, “The process I’m going through makes me accept that it was me but I don’t know how and find it very difficult to believe.”
The case, being heard by Judge Johan Olivier, will continue in the Northern Cape High Court on Wednesday when the defence is expected to call another witness.