By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The defence lawyers in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial have objected to a witness being shown the identikits of two suspects, made just days after the soccer star was killed.
The identikits were digital reconstructions based on the descriptions given by witnesses who were in the house when Meyiwa was shot.
The five murder accused in the Meyiwa murder trial, which is being heard at the Gauteng North High Court in Pretoria, are Muzikawukhulelwa Sthemba Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli (accused one to five, respectively).
The people who were in the house on the day Meyiwa was murdered were Kelly Khumalo and her younger sister, Zandile; their mother, Gladness Ntombi Khumalo (MaKhumalo); Longwe Twala; Meyiwa’s friends, Mthokozisi Thwala and Tumelo Madlala; Kelly’s then four-year-old son, Christian; and Thingo, her daughter with Meyiwa.
The five men on trial have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.
State prosecutor George Baloyi asked the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria if he could show the identikits to State witness Constable Sizwe Zungu.
Attorney Sipho Ramosepele for Ntanzi and Sibiya objected, arguing no images were referred to during Zungu’s evidence-in-chief.
Advocate Charles Mnisi for Mncube sided with Ramosepele, arguing it was new evidence.
Advocate Zithulele Nxumalo for Maphisa said he had only asked Zungu about the identikits which appeared in the newspaper, not an image that was shown to the witness.
Nxumalo and Mnisi said they would not have a problem if the State handed up the newspaper article of the identikits.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo for Ntuli also objected.
Mshololo said she never referred to the identikits during her cross-examination but only referred to a newspaper which carried the identikits.
Baloyi said Zungu was questioned about the identikits during cross-examination, so it would be fair to show him the pictures to see whether it was the same images he saw in the newspaper back in 2014.
After Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng ruled the identikits could be shown to Zungu, Mshololo tried to object again, claiming they were new evidence that had not been disclosed to the defence.
Baloyi said the identikits had been given to the defence.
After some back and forth about whether copies of the identikits were given to the defence, Zungu was shown the images of the two suspects.
He said the image of the man wearing the hoodie looked like Ntanzi.
Earlier, Zungu, as he concluded his evidence in court, stuck to his guns and insisted his story was not a fabrication that he had partied with the accused at a hostel in Vosloorus hours before Meyiwa was killed and hours after the incident, while the accused had left the hostel at about the time the former Bafana Bafana captain was killed.
Meanwhile forensic specialist Captain Mampshedi Masetla excluded three of Meyiwa’s suspected murderers Maphisa, Ntuli, and Sibiya after their DNAs were not found on any of the 12 swabs conducted by his office.
Masetla confirmed this in explosive testimony on Monday.
He told the court he had obtained DNA samples of all the accused and the people who were in the house.
Masetla, who has been a forensic specialist for over 15 years, testified in the Pretoria High Court.
He told the court, Pretoria, he obtained a BSc in zoology and physiology as well as an honours degree in genetics from the University of the North (now known as the University of Limpopo) in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
“There is a scotch hat and that particular hat that was found on the scene excludes all suspects,” he said.
Masetla’s testimony contradicts that of the witnesses who were in the house on the day Meyiwa was killed.
Evidence before the court stated that the brown hat on the kitchen floor belonged to one of the intruders who shot and killed Meyiwa.
This evidence was provided by Zandile Khumalo and Tumelo Madlala, two of the seven occupants who were in the house at the time of Meyiwa’s death.
Khumalo and Madlala’s testimony stated that the gunman, who wore a beige top, also wore a beige hat.
Sgt Patrick Mthethwa, who was one of the first police officers at Meyiwa’s murder scene, also told the court that it was Kelly’s mother Gladness Khumalo who showed him the hat of the alleged suspect.
Mthethwa told the court that she picked up the hat to show him and his partner that the hat left behind on the scene belonged to one of the intruders.
Swabs matching Kelly’s mother were found on two door handles to room one and another room of the house.They were also found on the toilet handle.
Kelly’s sister Zandile DNA was found on a Smirnoff bottle.
Masetla added that Meyiwa’s DNA was found on two blood swabs from a TV stand, the mouth of a Heineken can and kitchen tile wall.
A single-donor profile also matched Meyiwa from the right- and left-hand swabs conducted.
However, Masetla said some of the swabs showed no result because not enough DNA could be gathered, therefore showing negative results.
He added that in such cases, his office does not conduct further swabs on the objects. These included a kitchen tile wall, bedroom three, and crutches.
Masetla also told the court that Kelly Khumalo was excluded from swap samples that were analysed.
Masetla is set to continue his testimony on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Zandile Khumalo has denied rumours of a R22 million deal with her sister and Netflix for a documentary series about the Meyiwa murder.
On her Instagram account, Khumalo responded to rumours about the deal and said her attention was directed towards the upcoming release of her new single this week.
Netflix also rubbished the rumours.
“There is no truth to these ‘reports’, there is no deal between the Khumalos and Netflix,” a Netflix spokesperson was quoted as saying.
In 2022, Netflix released a true crime documentary titled Murder of a Soccer Star, which consisted of five thrilling episodes.
This documentary provided a deep dive into the events surrounding Meyiwa’s murder, shedding light on the details of that unfortunate night when he was shot in what was believed to be a failed robbery attempt.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of ENCA.