By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Pretoria High Court has dismissed an application by defence lawyer Advocate Malesela Teffo in the Senzo Meyiwa trial for a special plea.
Teffo, the defence counsel of accused one to four, informed the court on Friday, midway through the cross-examination of forensic officer Sergeant Thabo Johannes Mosia, that he was uncomfortable continuing with the trial.
He believed continuing with the cross-examination of Mosia was a futile exercise given the new information his team had been alerted to.
Teffo told the court he was of the view that his clients’ constitutional rights had been violated following their appearance in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on March 27, 2020. As a result, it necessitated that a trial-within-a-trial be held to first deal with a number of issues.
The five men had appeared before Magistrate Hans Havenga. Four of them, namely Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Sifokuhle Ntuli, without any legal representation, contended they had no need for it because they were wrongly implicated.
That is where the whole country saw the accused refusing to enter the box saying, “We don’t know why we are here, we were never informed of our rights, we believe the people who were supposed to be here have money … We are poor and we are being scapegoated by the police and NPA to avoid prosecuting the relevant people,” he said.
Teffo said in addition to the appearances in the magistrate’s court there were also confessions obtained from Sibiya and Ntanzi, the first and second accused, which had to be tested as he alleged they had been obtained only after the pair were severely assaulted.
The defence counsel said it was crucial for the court to deal with the admissibility of the confessions before proceeding with the main trial, as without it the confessions remained in limbo.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela ruled that cross-examination by the lawyer for the fifth accused should be allowed to continue.
“The court does not find the basis to make such an order against Adv Mshololo. What Sgt Thabo Mosia [the state’s first witness] is about to testify has nothing to do with those confessions, “Maumela said.
After the ruling, Mshololo began questioning Mosia about his qualifications in the field of forensic investigation.
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