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The
nephew of murdered Gugulethu jazz singer Petronella Mkona cried as he
viewed photographs showing her and his mother Charmaine Mkona with
bullet wounds in their heads.
Zolani Mkona, 21, was testifying during the trial of Angolan David Paulo in the Cape High Court on Wednesday.
Paulo is standing trial for the murders of the Mkona sisters and his and Petronella's daughter.
Mkona turned red in the face and wiped away tears, as he held the photographs in his hand and shook his head.
| 'he had seen blood on the floor and a bullet wound in his mother's head' |
He
had been asleep in the room at the back of the house when he was woken
up by a crying neighbour. When he walked to the front of the house, he
had seen blood on the floor and a bullet wound in his mother's head.
"She (his mother) had a hole in her head they looked like people who were shot in their sleep," he said.
Earlier this week Paulo pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He is accused of murdering his girlfriend Mkona, her twin sister
Charmaine, 31, and their two-year-old daughter in the lounge of their
Gugulethu home at 2am on June 21, 2005.
Petronella Mkona, 31, affectionately known as Pat, was a dancer and backing vocalist in Afro jazz bands Mpho and Uvimba.
| 'He is serving a three-year sentence for attempted murder' |
Zolani
Mkona said he had hesitantly let Paulo into their house while he was
watching a soccer match between Manchester and Liverpool.
He said his mother, aunt and Paulo were talking while the accused played with his daughter.
"Landrino (Paulo) was saying Pat must go for an abortion, but Pat said
he was not supporting the child they already had and was not going to
support this one," said Mkona.
Paulo was out on bail at the time for assaulting Mkona's ex-husband, Felix Furtak, and smashing the windows of a car.
He is serving a three-year sentence for attempted murder, assault with
the intention of doing grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to
property, passed in the Wynberg Regional Court on October 23, 2006.
On Wednesday, Paulo was dressed in a pair of dark coloured pants, a
white shirt with a brown scarf, black jacket and grey gloves.
His lawyer, Mike Pothier, cross-examined Mkona about the arrival time
of the accused at the house and why he had not heard the gunshots.
Mkona said he was certain of the time and that the volume of the gunshots would have depended on the firearm.
Pothier raised the time because a previous witness had said Paulo had
arrived after 9pm, but did not question Mkona further about this.
The trial continues on Thursday.
- This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Argus on April 10, 2008
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