Zimbabwean murder accused tells of bribes to get into SA

Zimbabwean double-murder accused Blessing Bveni told the Western Cape High Court last week that he bribed his way into SA twice before being arrested for an alleged crime spree in the Table Mountain National Park. The 33-year-old has pleaded not guilty to counts of murder, attempted murder, assault, robberies and contraventions of the Immigration Act, says a Sunday Times Daily report. He is on trial for allegedly attacking and robbing 10 hikers in the park during 2018 and the murders of pilot Doug Notten and cyclist Ian McPherson. Both men died after being stabbed in the park in February and March 2018. Notten was attacked while walking on a mountain path near Fish Hoek with his wife Julia, who escaped uninjured. Several witnesses have implicated Bveni as their alleged attacker, but he denied the claims, suggesting his accusers were lying. He added he did not know any of the witnesses who had testified against him earlier in the trial. Prosecutor Christopher Burke highlighted the charges related to an allegedly fake Zimbabwean passport and temporary asylum permit that were found in his possession. ‘I am surprised to find my picture on those documents,’ said Bveni. ‘I have never applied for a passport in my life, and I never was documented to be in SA,’ he said. Judge Judith Cloete asked Bveni when he had arrived in SA. He said his first visit to the country was in 2012. ‘I returned to Zimbabwe in 2014 and came back to SA in 2016,’ he said. ‘But you had no passport. How did you enter SA?’ asked the judge. ‘I bribed an officer to get in both times.’ ‘Which border post?’ asked the judge. ‘Beitbridge, both times.’ The case was adjourned until 26 October.