By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
State witness constable Sizwe Zungu faced tough questions about his failure to inform senior police officers about information that could have been crucial to solving the murder of Senzo Meyiwa.
Five men are on trial for the murder of the soccer star who was shot and killed in 2014 while at the home of Kelly Khumalo’s mother in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg.
Zungu has placed all accused in the Vosloorus area during his testimony. However, Advocate Zithulele Nxumalo who represents accused number four, denies his client was with Zungu on the night of the murder.
During today’s proceedings, Advocate Nxumalo, representing accused four Mthokoziseni Maphisa, attempted to discredit Zungu’s testimony, questioning why the witness didn’t come forward when he found out an arrest was made in connection Meyiwa’s murder.
According to Nxumalo, Zamokuhle Mbatha, who was later released following his arrest, had gone through an identification parade at the Jeppe police station on 29 October 2015. Mbatha was wrongfully arrested and later cleared of all charges. He planned to sue the state over the incident.
But Zungu defended himself, saying he wasn’t present at the identification parade, nor did he know who was arrested.
“Also I wasn’t the investigating officer and I would have not then interfered in something that didn”t concern me,” he said.
The witness stressed that he wasn’t at the Khumalo household when Meyiwa was shot.
“It might have been on the news, but that didn’t mean I now had confirmation as to who did it, “Zungu responded.
Nxumalo asked Zungu why he did not inform his senior police officer, General Vincent Leshabane, about hanging out with people who could be linked to Meyiwa’s murder at the hostel.
“In a meeting towards the end of 2018 or 2019, General Leshabane told you that he was going to conduct his own investigations and come back you. When he came back to you did he tell you about the outcome of his investigations?”
Zungu agreed.
“Why then would you not tell the general [about the hostel]?” Nxumalo asked.
The witness said he believed Leshabane would have conducted his investigation regardless.
“I also did not have certainty that they are the ones who committed the offence so I wanted him to come back to me and then inform me as to what happened.”
Nxumalo further questioned why Zungu did not also divulge any details about the hostel to investigating officer, Brigadier Bongani Gininda when he was asked whether he had information about the murder.
If you had told Brigadier Gininda on the 13th of November 2019 that you do not know anything about the killing of the deceased, where does your detailed statement with information and knowledge of 31 May 2023 come from?:”
“I would not have said I know who killed Meyiwa, whereas I didn’t even know what transpired at the Khumalo house,” Zungu said.
Zungu, in his evidence-in-chief, told the court he “partied” with all five men at a hostel in Vosloorus on the day Meyiwa was killed.
Fisokuhle Ntuli’s lawyer, Advocate Zandile Mshololo, quizzed Zungu about the sequence of events in leading up to the police officer chilling with the accused at the hostel.
Zungu, in his response, said he was on duty from 8am before he knocked off at 1pm.
The lawyer asked Zungu for the travel log book he used on the day in question since he was driving a state police vehicle.
Can we get the log book of this vehicle to show that it travelled from Tembisa, as you have stated, to Johannesburg CBD and to Vosloorus?” Mshololo said.
Zungu pointed out that he gave his travel documents to his superiors at the Tembisa police station, but couldn’t confirm whether the records can be accessed since he doesn’t work in the police’s archives department.
Mshololo asked: “Is it your evidence that you can’t produce the documents that prove that you traveled [to the Vosloorus hostel]?”
“If you say that I cannot prove then it means that I won’t be able to retrieve the documents. They are in the hands of the Saps [South African Police Service],” Zungu responded.
The advocate told Zungu that her client denies being at the hostel or meeting him.
“He is lying, “the witness said.
Mshololo further said: “I put it to you the reason you failed to execute your duties to assist police is because the incident at the hostel did not happen. You fabricated a story later.”
But Zungu dismissed Mshololo’s notion.
The police officer was also adamant that there were threats to his life even though he didn’t report the incident to the police.
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