JO’ BERG HOMICIDE

Jan 2001 – 26’23’’

ANALISE:

Tonight on Special Assignment… the extraordinary story of the murder of an ordinary man… on the streets of Johannesburg.

Script

TROLLEY PUSHER PUSHES TROLLEY

In the Homicide Unit in the city of Baltimore six detectives work on every murder. In Joburg’s inner city, each detective is busy investigating at least 60 murder cases at any given time. This is the story of one of those cases...

ZOOM IN ON BLOOD... FREEZE (SIRENS) ....

TITLE

TURBINE HALL FOOTAGE

Thomas Khoza was a journalist with the Street newspaper ‘Homeless Talk’. On the 10th of June this year he was brutally murdered in Turbine Hall… one of the many informal settlements in the inner city.

PAN DOWN TO DAISY FREEZE. DISSOLVE INTO STEVEN WALKING ACROSS THE STREET.

The first time anybody realised that Thomas was missing was when the Homeless Talk office opened on Monday. It was deadline day so anyone who hadn't submitted their story yet wasn't going to get paid...

OVER FOOTAGE OF HER HAVING BREAKFAST

When a body was discovered at Turbine Hall a murder docket was opened. The case was handed over to Detective Lahana Brindle.... A single mother with three children...

OVER FOOTAGE OF THEM WALKING INTO THE POLICE BUILDING

At Joburg Central there are 8 detectives in the Murder Unit. At any given time each one is investigating between fifty and eighty murder cases....

(this is a repetition of an earlier paragraph)

OVER ENTERING PLANT>

Tom did have a home.. but he had left it years ago and come to Joburg seeking greener pastures. Like so many others he couldn't find a job and landed up on the streets....

While Tom and his friend were discussing the problem of the missing trolley, some thugs broke into the shack and attacked them.

OVER FOOTAGE OF HER AND THE PARTNER DRIVING PASSED THE BUILDING ....

The murder was witnessed by a number of people. Despite the fact that Tom was a journalist, he was also a homeless person. He had no ID document… so his body was taken to the State Mortuary where it was tagged Identity Unknown. .....

..back at Homeless Talk his friends were frantically trying to find him. Without money for phone-calls and taxis.... finding a missing person becomes an enormous task.....

PART TWO

OVER FOOTAGE OF HER AT PARADE..

7 o'clock at Joburg Central and it’s the daily briefing. Detective Brindle and her partner Inspector Stassen are given their new case dockets.

Two people have been murdered on the corner of Fox and Polly Streets.

Much like the Khoza investigation.. the first step is to examine the crime scene and then to locate any potential eyewitnesses....

OVER THEM WIDE SHOT AT TURBINE HALL

When a witness came forward .... the Khosa investigation could move on…

OVER KARATE

Jack and Tom became good friends. Apart from their interest in journalism they also opened a safe house for Street children in the Northern Suburbs. Tom ran the place, while his brother Sylvester taught the boys marshal arts.

OVER SOCCER SEQ >>>>

When money ran out, the safe house was closed. Some of the boys were sent to live with Tom’s mother on the farm near Warmbaths.

TO BOYS>>>>

TO MOTHER WITH PHOTO>>>>

JACK VO about Tom came from a lovely family

JEAN WALKING IN THE RAIN >>>

Jean Mogane was Tom's girlfriend and the mother of his child. She now lives in Nelspruit. When they met he was still living at the safe house in Highlands North.

JEAN: I was a domestic worker.. I loved him no one will replace that space... "

JACK : Tom was such a good friend I couldn't just let it go...

BRINDLE MAKING SUPPER FOR HER KIDS>>>

BRINDLE: At least there are five guys off the streets now...

BACK TO MOM >>>> putting the things on the grave...END

Update V/O: All the witnesses in the case have now disappeared. If they’re not found, charges will be withdrawn. The murder of Thomas Khoza will remain unsolved… another statistic on the streets of Johannesburg.