By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The state’s ballistic expert in the Senzo Meyiwa trial has been accused of being part of tampering with the crime scene which he processed after the footballer’s murder.
Ballistics expert Chris Mangena has been under cross-examination for over a week now in the Pretoria High Court.
His findings, linking the exhibit bullet found on the scene of Meyiwa’s murder to a gun found in the possession of one of the accused, Mthobisi Mncube is being challenged.
Mangena’s evidence is that when Meyiwa was shot, the bullet perforated his body and hit the kitchen door before landing on the counter nearby.
On Wednesday, advocate Charles Mnisi, on behalf of the accused, Mncube used two pictures of the door taken hours apart to suggest that Mangena had tampered with evidence he found in the door.
“You also arrived and did your own investigation and you found an exhibit that you did not disclose,” said Mnisi.
It’s unclear from Mnisi’s assessment, however, why Mangena would hide a bullet that he found on the crime scene.
During the proceedings, lawyer for the fourth accused, advocate Zithulele Nxumalo, spent the day cross-examining Mangena on his findings.
Pictures of the crime scene and Mangena’s findings were beamed on a screen. The defence’s ballistic expert, David Pieterse, was also present in court.
Nxumalo asked Mangena to demonstrate how the test bullets fired match the crime scene bullet. He urged him to do so on the computer screen in court.
During his demonstration, Mangena said the test bullets he fired positively match the bullet found at the scene of Meyiwa’s murder.
However, Nxumalo said the defence’s Pieterse will give a contrary testimony. He said Pieterse will testify that the test bullets fired do not consistently match the crime scene bullet. Mangena disagreed.
Mangena has already testified in the trial on crucial evidence about the alleged murder weapon last August. Back then he testified that the 9mm gun that was found on Mncube when he was arrested in 2015 is the same one that killed Meyiwa. Mncube was on that occasion arrested for a separate matter.
The court will call Mangena’s colleagues from the police forensic lab, who corroborated his findings.
Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain and goalkeeper, was shot and killed in Vosloorus, East Rand. The incident happened at the house of the mother of his then girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo, on October 26 2014.
The people who were present in the house during the murder were Kelly, Kelly’s sister Zandile and their mother Gladness. Also Zandile’s then boyfriend Longwe Twala, and Meyiwa’s close friends Tumelo Madlala and Mthokozisi Twala.
Sibiya, Ntanzi, Mncube, Maphisa and Ntuli – face charges of premeditated murder. They are also charged with attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition charges also.