https://www.news24.com/news24/south...nvert-him-to-islam-witness-testifies-20230504
A 24-year-old witness in the murder case against Italian-born Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, and two others claimed the accused tried to convert him to Islam a few months before Rodney, 73, and Rachel, 63, Saunders were brutally murdered.
Del Vecchio, along with his wife, Fatima Patel, 31, and Malawian national Ahmad Jackson, 31, allegedly threw the bodies of the celebrated botanists into the crocodile-infested Tugela-river after killing them in February 2018.
The accused face several charges, including murder, assault and theft.
The Saunders couple held dual citizenship for South Africa and the United Kingdom. They were last seen alive on 10 February 2018.
It’s understood that they were searching for rare plants and seeds, as part of their work, when they were attacked.
On Wednesday, a witness, who did menial work for Del Vecchio in his Mtunzini home, continued his testimony in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, after which the defence commenced its cross-examination.
The witness cannot be named due to a court order related to safety concerns.
He said Del Vecchio often persuaded him to read the Quran and other Islamic books.
“He would also show me videos of soldiers dressed in Islamic clothing. In the videos, the soldiers would start by praying before shooting people,” the witness said.
The murder
According to the State’s indictment, WhatsApp communication between Del Vecchio, Patel and Jackson discussed plans to “kill the kuffar [non-believer], abduct their allies, to destroy infrastructure, and to put fear in the heart of the kuffar”.
The State also alleges that, on 10 February 2018, Del Vecchio told Patel and Jackson – on the same WhatsApp group – that “there is an elderly couple in the forest, that is a good hunt and they had equipment”….
On Wednesday, Del Vecchio’s lawyer, Bulelani Mazomba, told the court his client instructed him that the witness often joined him and Patel during their prayer sessions.
But the witnessed denied this.
“No, he’s lying. I have never joined them. I was not familiar with his religion. In fact, I was wary of it as it was my first-time seeing people worshipping like that,” he said.
“If I wanted to anything to do with religion, I would have, perhaps, gone to a church frequented by my parents.”
A 24-year-old witness in the murder case against Italian-born Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, and two others claimed the accused tried to convert him to Islam a few months before Rodney, 73, and Rachel, 63, Saunders were brutally murdered.
Del Vecchio, along with his wife, Fatima Patel, 31, and Malawian national Ahmad Jackson, 31, allegedly threw the bodies of the celebrated botanists into the crocodile-infested Tugela-river after killing them in February 2018.
The accused face several charges, including murder, assault and theft.
The Saunders couple held dual citizenship for South Africa and the United Kingdom. They were last seen alive on 10 February 2018.
It’s understood that they were searching for rare plants and seeds, as part of their work, when they were attacked.
On Wednesday, a witness, who did menial work for Del Vecchio in his Mtunzini home, continued his testimony in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, after which the defence commenced its cross-examination.
The witness cannot be named due to a court order related to safety concerns.
He said Del Vecchio often persuaded him to read the Quran and other Islamic books.
“He would also show me videos of soldiers dressed in Islamic clothing. In the videos, the soldiers would start by praying before shooting people,” the witness said.
The murder
According to the State’s indictment, WhatsApp communication between Del Vecchio, Patel and Jackson discussed plans to “kill the kuffar [non-believer], abduct their allies, to destroy infrastructure, and to put fear in the heart of the kuffar”.
The State also alleges that, on 10 February 2018, Del Vecchio told Patel and Jackson – on the same WhatsApp group – that “there is an elderly couple in the forest, that is a good hunt and they had equipment”….
On Wednesday, Del Vecchio’s lawyer, Bulelani Mazomba, told the court his client instructed him that the witness often joined him and Patel during their prayer sessions.
But the witnessed denied this.
“No, he’s lying. I have never joined them. I was not familiar with his religion. In fact, I was wary of it as it was my first-time seeing people worshipping like that,” he said.
“If I wanted to anything to do with religion, I would have, perhaps, gone to a church frequented by my parents.”
