- The basketball coach accused of the kidnapping, rape and murder of the Hout Bay boy, Sibusiso Dakuse, has joined the frantic search for him, the court heard on Wednesday.
- During by Marvin Minnaar trial in the Western Cape High Court, he was described as a valuable volunteer coach who helped with equipment and communications.
- The founding president of the basketball club stated that they were shocked when the police questioned them about the boy’s disappearance.
Hout Bay basketball coach Marvin Minnaar has joined the search for 12-year-old Sibusiso Dakuse, the boy he is now accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering, the Western Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.
Minnaar has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and has chosen to remain silent throughout the trial.
On Tuesday, Bryn Mbulawa, founding president of the Hout Bay Snipers basketball team, was sworn in to testify about the humble beginnings of the club, which began as a couple of friends “dripping a ball” in a parking lot, and ended up becoming a club. highly competitive made up of enthusiastic boys and girls who battle with teams from all over Cape Town.
While they hit some balls in the early days, they inevitably drew a crowd, and Minnaar, still at school, was among those fascinated by the game.
Little by little he went from being an enthusiastic spectator to learning the rules of the game and then volunteering for the club.
Mbulawa traced the club’s beginnings back to 2015 and proudly described gradually building up a kit design, earning his first sponsorship from the local hardware store, to buy vests in the colors royal blue, orange and white. They came up with their name, and the Snipers caught the attention of African Grassroots Basketball (AGB).
READ | The secrets of the reeds: how the body of little Sibusiso Dakuse was found
The AGB hosted a gala day with a professional coach and player, and Minnaar was an enthusiastic attendee distributing food and drinks. He helped with club communications to parents and was in charge of retrieving the kit.
This was not always an easy job as teens often lost their gear or had it stolen from the washing line. In 2020, the club finally got a proper basketball court, built in the parking lot of the Hout Bay Sports Club opposite Imizamo Yethu, where the dream began.
The club eventually gave Minnaar a chance to train.
Mbulawa testified that the night Sibusiso disappeared, February 26, 2020, there was chaos in court. One of the 20 soccer clubs that the sports club uses was using the basketball court and the basketball players were trying to run between the soccer players and he had to step in to fix things.
That night he saw Minnaar arrive late at the gates of the sports club. He remembers Minnaar walking across the basketball courts and has no memory of what Minnaar did afterward.
Because they all volunteer their time, he doesn’t like scolding the other coaches for being late to practice, and continued to coach his age group.
He testified that in addition to football and basketball teams, the club also hosts skateboarders who make noise with their cartwheels and tricks, so among the spectators, the place is often crowded.
Mbulawa told judge Constance Nziweni that she normally escorted the players at Imizamo Yethu home afterwards to make sure they all got home safely because some tended to go in other directions rather than going straight home.
The next day, February 27, the police arrived at his office and were alarmed to hear that a boy who had gone missing the night before might be one of his basketball players and that the police needed help locating the boy.
He knew all his players and their parents, and he was sure he didn’t have a player named Sibusiso Dakuse. Neither the police nor Sibusiso’s grandmother had a photo of him at that early stage of the search.
READ | Court sees gruesome footage of Hout Bay boy’s body found in reed bed
The police left his office, but came back to the club that night to question the other coaches.
This time they had obtained a photo of Sibusiso, and he was able to confirm that Sibusiso was not one of the Snipers.
In the evening air, they heard a megaphone shouting Sibusiso’s name at Imizamo Yethu. It was windy so they abandoned practice and went to help look for it.
Mbulawa said the whole of Hout Bay was extremely concerned for the boy and anyone who could help was looking for him.
By then, Sibusiso’s photograph was posted on the Hout Bay organized Facebook group and the Hout Bay forum.
Basketball teams and coaches climbed the steep hill of Imizamo Yethu to join the search led by the neighborhood watch.
Mbulawa said everyone was walking around asking, “Where is the boy?”
Sibusiso’s family stood outside their home in a vigil of hope. His father, desperate for him, a taxi driver, was looking everywhere for his son.
Sibusiso’s father has been in court every day, looking exhausted.
The groups split up to cover more ground, and Mbulawa and Minnaar walked with one of the groups looking for the boy.
The basketball coaches finally went home and, Mbulawa said. That was the last time he saw Minnaar.
He said he heard Minnaar was the last to be seen with the child, and when questioned about it, Minnaar said he walked in the direction of a pharmacy with him, and they parted ways near the Hout Bay police station.
READ | Murdered Hout Bay boy found face down in reed bed, pathologist tells court
The next day, in the basketball Whatsapp group, the news came that they had found Sibusiso.
“And that they had found him dead,” Mbulawa said.
Sibusiso’s body was found in the reeds on Manchester Road on the morning of 28 February. He was raped and then strangled to death.
Minnaar is believed to have been caught on CCTV walking with him on the night of February 26.
Earlier on Wednesday, prosecutor Nadia Ajam revealed that they had obtained more CCTV footage from a security company that had provided them with footage of interest that they found while reviewing old footage.
This video shows a different child walking with a different adult. This child is alive and well, but he said the relevance of this discovery would be revealed later in the trial.
He implored Nziweni to seal the photographs containing the image of the unidentified child and adult. She told the judge that it would be in the best interest of the child and that they don’t want to hurt the case by identifying the adult they haven’t located yet.
Reluctant to seal the entire archive of still photographs from publication, Nziweni said he would proceed cautiously with the images, dealing with each one as it becomes relevant during the trial.
The trial continues on Wednesday, with Minnaar’s lawyer ready to question Mbulawa.
