By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
It’s been a 10 years since Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was gunned down, and his family is yet to find closure.
Meyiwa was shot on 26 October 2014 at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, at age 30.
In 2020, five men — Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi; Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya; Mthobisi Prince Mncube; Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa; and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli were arrested on different occasions for his murder. They were all denied bail.
The trial, sitting in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, has been marred by delays after the Judge Tshifiwa Maumela was removed in July 2023, in a bid to speed up the case and bring the matter to finality.
Retired Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, who was ironically a former footballer having played for both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, was roped in to hear the case and he started the trial from scratch and recalled witnesses who had already testified.
Witnesses included some of the people who were in the house when Meyiwa was shot, neighbours, police officers, ballistic experts, cellphone experts, medical practitioners and magistrates, among others.
Meyiwa’s family have rubbished damning allegations made against the soccer star’s former girlfriend, Khumalo, regarding her involvement in his murder.
Meyiwa’s brother, Sifiso Meyiwa, accused the leading investigator of being a liar and corrupt after Brigadier Bongani Gininda testified that two of the accused implicated Khumalo to have ordered the murder of Meyiwa.
Meanwhile AfriForum’s advocate, Gerrie Nel, was not pleased that the alleged mastermind was not in the dock with the accused, a concern he still holds today.
“It’s very difficult to charge a mastermind later because the accused have gone through a trial. They have never admitted what they did.
“In all probability, the State will argue that their evidence should be rejected. Then to later use the same people to charge the mastermind won’t be very effective. I think it will be near impossible to prosecute a mastermind based on the evidence of a trial that’s taken this long.”
The State has since revealed that it believes Khumalo is the mastermind, leading evidence that links phone calls between her and the accused.
Nel has complemented the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the lead prosecutor in this matter, Advocate George Baloyi, for his work on the trial so far.
During the proceedings on Monday, the lead investigator in the Brigadier Gininda has torn apart claims made by accused number one Sibiya.
Sibiya is one of the five men charged with the 2014 killing of the soccer star but has denied being in Gauteng at the time.
His name came up when the state’s key witness, police constable Sizwe Zungu, implicated him in the murder.
However, all his denials were dealt a blow as Gininda continues giving evidence on the police’s investigation.
Detailing the banking records of the five accused, Gininda said the accused one made transactions in Vosloorus in October 2014.
“My understanding would be that a person would have to walk in to replace a bank card at Vosloorus, Naledi Mall,” said Gininda.
“Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya’s version that he lived in Emahlabathini in 2014 is not consistent with the bank records that show that he was transacting in Gauteng, except for the two occasions where he was in Nongoma and Ulundi.”
He further said Sibiya lived in Basotho hostel, Vosloorus Ext 1.
“That is not only confirmed by our profiling, but his address that he provided when he opened his bank account was Basotho Hostel.
Going through Sibiya’s phone records, Gininda said they show that he called and sent a Please Call Me to Constable Sizwe Zungu.
Asked for a comment on the record by state prosecutor George Baloyi, Gininda said: “The record speaks for itself; there was communication between the accused and Zungu.” The trial continues on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.