Court dismisses application for trial within a trial in Senzo Meyiwa case

06 June 2022 - 16:29
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Advocate Malesela Teffo with some of the five accused of the murder of Senzo Meyiwa. File photo.
Advocate Malesela Teffo with some of the five accused of the murder of Senzo Meyiwa. File photo.
Image: Antonio Muchave

The application brought by advocate Malesela Teffo to have a trial within a trial in the murder case of Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has been dismissed.

Teffo made an application before the Pretoria high court asking that the cross-examination being conducted by advocate Zandile Mshololo, for accused No 5 Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli, should be halted and allow for a trial within a trial.

Teffo argued that the accused were wrongfully arrested and should not be the ones sitting in the dock for Meyiwa’s murder.

He is representing four of the five men in the matter.

Teffo further submitted that two of his clients – Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi – were assaulted and forced into making confessions, which was a fundamental violation of their constitutional rights.

But judge Tshifhiwa Maumela said Teffo had failed to provide the documentation on time and that his application could only be entertained later when evidence related to the issues he was raising came before the court.

“The court does not find the basis to make such an order against advocate 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.

Mosia told the court that he joined the police in January 2006. He said by the time Meyiwa was killed on October 26 2014, he already had eight years' work experience.

Mosia said he received internal training in forensic investigations in 2008 before being credited as a criminalistics expert in 2013. Mosia later obtained a BTech degree in forensic investigations in 2019.

“How come you say you left the crime scene because it was beyond your capabilities? Based on the training that you had received, you were supposed to continue with the investigations because you were knowledgeable,” Mshololo said.

Mosia maintained that he left the scene at singer Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus, on the East Rand, in the hands of a senior police officer.

Mosia has testified that he arrived on the scene about 20 minutes after midnight. He collected some of the evidence and then called the crime scene management team from the province. He then left the scene and returned the same day.

Sibiya, Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Ntuli have been charged with Meyiwa’s murder. The five face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and illegal possession of ammunition.

The defence has been poking holes in how Mosia handled evidence when he arrived on the scene. They have argued that some of the evidence Mosia has testified that he did not capture on his arrival, such as the bullet casing found in the kitchen, was actually planted.

The trial continues.

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