LISTEN | Lawyer calls bluff on witness request for media blackout in Meyiwa trial
Image: Thulani Mbele
The prosecutor in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, George Baloyi, told the Pretoria high court on Wednesday that the state's next witness feared a social media “onslaught” if she testified live on camera.
Baloyi was delivering heads of argument on the witness's application to stop her testimony being broadcast. It was brought by the state on Monday on her behalf.
The lawyer representing electronic media, Dan Rosengarten, read posts by the witness, one from 2022 and another from May 15, when the application was made, which, among other things, relate to her participation in the trial.
“I pause to say and to ask whether this is merely a stunt for someone who is very active on social media and whose image is all over social media,” he said.
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The witness, who was among those at the Vosloorus house where Meyiwa was shot dead in October 2014, is yet to be sworn in.
The trial has been postponed to Thursday for a ruling on the matter.