By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The trial of five men accused of killing soccer star Senzo Meyiwa in 2014 was back in the dock at the Pretoria high court on Monday.
This follows an early adjournment on Friday after the defence lawyer Adv Thulani Mngomezulu fell ill.
During the proceedings, Tracker expert, Maria Pretorius was going through the movement of a vehicle said to be driven by Longwe Twala the night the football star was killed.
Twala was one of the people present inside the Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus on Gauteng’s East Rand, when two alleged intruders entered and shot Meyiwa.
According to Mngomezulu, Meyiwa was shot by one of the people who were at Khumalo’s family home on the night in question.
Mngomezulu also alleged that Longwe accidentally shot himself in the foot during a scuffle with Meyiwa.
He further argued that Longwe’s wound had become septic, leading him to see a doctor before being referred to a different medical practitioner at Rand Hospital, where the bullet was removed.
However, according to evidence presented by Pretorius, Twala arrived at the house in Kutlwanong Street at 6.50pm. His car engine switched off eight minutes later. Meyiwa is believed to have been shot between 7.30pm and 8.15pm.
At 8.51pm Twala’s car switched on and he travelled for about eight minutes to Clinix Botshelong Hospital on Sam Sekoati Street. During this trip, he drove at speeds of between 13kmph and 69kmph.
He was at the hospital for about two hours before driving back to Khumalo’s home at speeds between 17kmph and 33kmph.
According to Pretorius’ evidence, Twala made a number of stops on the night.
Pretorius told the court that Longwe stayed at the Khumalo’s for two hours after the hospital and drove off at 2.19am to Khumalo’s house in Grasvoel Crescent in Liefde En Vrede some 20km away. The drive took 22 minutes.
The records show that the car was at Khumalo’s apartment for an hour before heading to the Glenvista, an address that was supported by RICA in the sim card as belonging to Twala.
The evidence also suggests that Twala went back to Vosloorus the following day where he spent about six hours.
During cross-examination, Mngomezulu raised concern that the state witness was no longer with the car tracker company that collected the evidence.
However, Pretorius said that is not a challenge as even if a new person is called, the person will also share the same information as it could be downloaded.
Meyiwa was killed while visiting his girlfriend, Khumalo, at her mother’s house in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni on 26 October 2014.
Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa’s murder.
They face charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicenced firearm, and possession of ammunition.