By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The trial of five men accused of murdering former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa continued at the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
During the trial of the late Bafana Bafana goalkeeper on Monday, 20 May, cellphone data analyst Gideon Gouws provided a crucial testimony.
Meyiwa was tragically killed on 26 October 2014 at the Vosloorus home of his then-girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, in Ekurhuleni.
Gouws revealed that on the day of Meyiwa’s death, two of the accused, Mthobisi Prince Mncube (accused three) and Fisokuhle Ntuli (accused five), exchanged multiple calls.
“Between 26 October 2014 and 14 December 2014, Mncube contacted Ntuli 11 times,” Gouws said, noting a specific call received by Ntuli at 6.31pm, lasting 47 seconds.
The analyst further testified that the accused maintained contact from 2018 to 2020, with over 100 calls recorded between them from 18 June 2018 until 3 March 2021.
Gouws confirmed the authenticity of the cellphone data records obtained from the service provider.
His analysis disclosed that Bongani Ntanzi was detected near the Queenswood Tower, close to the Villieria Police Station, multiple times. This tower data is crucial as it contradicts Ntanzi’s earlier denial of having a cellphone during his incarceration.
In April, Warrant Officer Lawrence Thabo Ndlovu testified about extracting data from a Samsung cellphone found on Ntanzi on February 7, 2021.
Ndlovu told the court that he received the phone on February 8, 2021, from investigators working on Meyiwa’s case. He placed the phone in a safe and began working on it on October 20, 2021.
The phone, which had a lock pattern, contained an SD card. Since the pattern-cracking software was not functional, Ndlovu used a tool called XRY to extract the data.
After completing the extraction, he sealed the phone in a new evidence bag. The phone was then collected from him by Officer Vusimuzi Mogane on September 5, 2023.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo, challenging Gouws’ testimony, argued that the number attributed to Ntuli was actually owned by his cousin, Lungisani Ndwandwe.
She highlighted discrepancies in the number of calls made to and from the number in question, emphasising that Ntuli denies ownership of the number.
On Friday, 17 May, Mshololo clarified, after cross-examination, that it was incorrect to assert that her client Ntuli had called Khumalo, referencing testimony from retired mobile data analyst Colonel Lambertus Steyn, who testified in August 2023.