Two accused of murdering Ukrainian hiker in Cape Town opt to remain silent

• The two men on trial for the murder of Ukrainian hiker Ivan Ivanov have decided to invoke their right to silence, and will not testify. 
• One of their co-accused agreed to plead guilty and explain what happened, and is now serving 25 years in jail. 
• The remaining two, however, will leave their fate to the court without providing their version of events.

The two men still on trial for murdering Ukrainian hiker Ivan Ivanov will not testify or bring witnesses, so the case will go straight to argument ahead of judgment. 

On Thursday, Western Cape High Court Judge Chantel Fortuin rejected their application for their case to be discharged before that point, citing a lack of evidence. 

She said the trial would continue. 

The State has rested its case, so the defence would ordinarily start a rebuttal of the evidence. 

But instead of this, both advocates said that their clients would not testify, nor bring witnesses. 

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Sinaye Mposelwa pleaded guilty to the premeditated murder of Ivanov just as he set off for a hike from East Fort above Chapman’s Peak Drive on 27 July 2019.  He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

A couple walking their dog abandoned their walk when they saw Mposelwa and two alleged accomplices behaving erratically, eventually hiding in a bush as the men approached. Three men came running past as they headed for their car.

Mposelwa ran past them, covered in blood and carrying Ivanov’s rucksack. Local security companies later caught him.

After four years awaiting trial, Mposelwa took a plea agreement. He said he could not say more than to explain his role, because a prison gang had made it clear that they wanted the case to go in a particular “direction”, and defying them would be dangerous.

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He was also convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances. His matter was separated from his alleged accomplices, Matthew Giyo and Franklin Isaacs, and they went on trial, having pleaded not guilty. 

The matter was postponed to 23 August for the defence and the State to submit final arguments ahead of judgment.