By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Defence advocate Zithulele Nxumalo has requested that state witness and forensic officer Thabo Mosia be recalled to the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial because there were discrepancies in his testimony.
Last week, Mosia told the court that, on 26 October 2014, he was on standby duty as the crime scene investigator responsible for Vosloorus, Zonkizizwe, Reiger Park and Dawn Park, when Brigadier Philani Ndlovu called him at 10.45pm.
Meyiwa was killed in an apparent robbery at his then-girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo’s house in October 2014.
The five people on trial — Mthobisi Mncube, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokozisi Maphisa, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Ntuli — have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.
The case was forced to start afresh before a new judge last month after the judge who was hearing it fell ill.
And it’s been motoring on since then, with more than a dozen witnesses already having taken the stand.
Wednesday saw two police witnesses – Thobeka Mhlalo and Sikheto Ngomana – testify.
Nxumalo said he would like to question Mosia about the exact time he arrived at the scene where the Bafana Bafana footballer was fatally shot in what the state asserts was a botched robbery.
“My lord, I would appreciate it if he is recalled. There is a discrepancy in the viva voce evidence [evidence given orally] and the documentary evidence, in a sense that he said he went to attend [a] business robbery from the scene of this [Meyiwa] case, but when one looks at this document, he visited that scene [the business robbery] at 22.50, before he came to the scene of this case,” Nxumalo said.
Defence advocate Zandile Mshololo, representing accused number five, Fisokuhle Ntuli, said she would also like Mosia called back to the stand.
“The witness testified and, from the documents that were submitted yesterday, when listening to that evidence and what has been testified before, I need to cross-examine the witness on what cases he went to attend on the day of the incident,” she said.
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