WATCH | 'Amakani can't be a can' — the Senzo Meyiwa trial translation moemish that has everyone talking

A court interpreter's stand-off with a defence attorney in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial on Thursday has gone viral.

Meyiwa was shot dead in 2014 at the Vosloorus home of his then-girlfriend, singer and actress Kelly Khumalo. Five men are on trial in the Pretoria high court for the murder of the former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper.

Sgt Mlungisi Mthethwa testified this week, recounting what he saw as he and his colleagues arrived at the crime scene.

He said they went to the scene 10 minutes after the incident was reported, where they met a man named 'Themba”, who identified himself as the uncle and brother of Kelly's mother.

Themba said he was called to the scene and someone had been shot and was taken to hospital. He was unsure whether the incident happened inside the house or out. Mthethwa said from what they could see inside the house, it was not clear whether something had happened there.

“If I am not mistaken, I think I saw only two bottles of liquor there,” the interpreter translated.

A claim that quickly sparked a war of words.

Advocate Tshepo Thobane questioned the interpreter's translation of “bottles” and said the witness had meant cans.

“I have the benefit of the language. I am not trying to teach my colleague his job, but the witness said ‘amakani': cans,” said Thobane.

The interpreter interjected, saying Thobane had got it wrong.

“No, no. You’ve got it wrong. Amakani cannot be a can,” he said.

After asking Mthethwa to explain again, the witness confirmed that “amakani are cans”, to laughs from the court gallery.

Mthethwa is the second witness to testify in the trial and has so far contradicted much of the evidence given by the first state witness, Sgt Thabo Mosia.

The confrontation drew sharp reactions online, with some finding it hilarious and others debating the term.