Meyiwa was gunned down in October 2014, in what was described as a botched robbery in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, in the presence of then girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, her mother Ntombi, her sister Zandi, Zandi’s boyfriend Longwe Twala and Senzo’s friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala.
Sibiya, Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Ntuli have been charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
They all pleaded not guilty.
The court has so far heard the evidence of just one of those who were in the house at the time of the attack.
Madlala had spent days on the stand being quizzed the court. He was a long-time friend of Meyiwa and had reportedly arrived from Durban to visit Meyiwa on the day that he was fatally shot.
Madlala has testified that on the night of the incident, a short male intruder with dreadlocks and wearing a hat had entered the house in the sitting area where they had been watching TV, pointed a gun at them and demanded cellphones and money.
According to Madlala, at that moment, Twala quickly ran towards the assailant, pushed him and ran out of the house.
Madlala said as the commotion started and some of the occupants in the house started fighting the assailant with the intention to run out, he Meyiwa in the kitchen, pinning a second intruder, tall and male, to the kitchen floor.
He further testified that when a deafening gunshot went off, he ran to one of the bedrooms in the house and hid there a while before coming out to find Meyiwa had been shot in the chest.
On Madlala's testimony in court, Nomalanga suggested she did not believe the version he put before the court.
“Tumelo’s behaviour has surprised us a lot as someone who was Senzo's best friend. If he is now failing to deliver the truth, it's hard [for us]. As I said, there are still more witnesses, we are waiting, we are very hurt that it's taking this long,” she said.
As the proceedings were nearing conclusion on Monday, Ntanzi moved to raise his hand addressing the court.
“Thobane should not be hurt by this development that transpired in this court. The issue is that we just want to fix and correct what emanated here inside this court specifically about myself as accused 2. They originate from the state advocate. We would like Thobane to greet us when he sees us in the street, he should not be cross with us,” Ntanzi said.
After proceedings, Thobane said there was no bad blood between himself and his ex-clients.
“Each and every client has the right to change their mind, to choose their own attorney. There is no bad feeling. This is how the profession is. If the client feels that he will be better with another legal representative, it's not a problem. It's common. It might even be a blessing in disguise. It's not a big deal. We cannot fight over that. I am not upset about it, he [Ntanzi] must not feel unhappy, but that's how the profession works,” he said.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela indicated there were no reasons given for Thobane's termination.
“He needs time to acquaint himself with all that has transpired from the beginning of the trial. For that reason, we cannot proceed as we had intended to proceed. Ramosepele will have to be provided with transcripts of the proceeding from the beginning, and he will have to look at the docket. For that reason, this case was to proceed until end of next week, that will no longer happen because Ramosepele is also not available next week,” he said.
By agreement, the case has been postponed to May 2 2023, proceedings until May 26, thereafter, the matter will again reconvene from June 5 to June 15.
TimesLIVE
Meyiwas disappointed by lengthy postponement as trial is set to continue in May 2023
Image: OJ Koloti
Senzo Meyiwa’s sister, Nomalanga, on Monday expressed disappointment and hurt after her brother’s murder trial was delayed by six months in Pretoria’s high court.
Nomalanga had arrived in court, hoping another key witness would be called to the stand. Instead the court heard that a new lawyer for two of the accused had been appointed, leading to the postponement to May 2023.
“It doesn’t sit well because we knew that [the next witness] would have been able to testify. The postponement is taking too much time, but we will wait. There is nothing we can do,” she said.
The two accused who threw a spanner in the works by suddenly changing their legal representative are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, who have retained a new defence lawyer and terminated the services of Tshepo Thobane.
New defence lawyer Sipho Ramosepele told the court he had received a direct request from Sibiya’s father to represent the two men last week. He highlighted that Sibiya and Ntanzi had grown up together.
“I was instructed byMr Sibiya, father of accused one, that they want me to take over the matter, with respect to accused one and two, from Thobane. He indicated to me that accused two grew up with his son, therefore he was going to speak to the family of accused two before they finalised my appointment in this matter, and that was only done on Saturday,” said Ramosepele.
New lawyer for two Senzo Meyiwa accused 'who grew up together'
Meyiwa was gunned down in October 2014, in what was described as a botched robbery in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, in the presence of then girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, her mother Ntombi, her sister Zandi, Zandi’s boyfriend Longwe Twala and Senzo’s friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala.
Sibiya, Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Ntuli have been charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
They all pleaded not guilty.
The court has so far heard the evidence of just one of those who were in the house at the time of the attack.
Madlala had spent days on the stand being quizzed the court. He was a long-time friend of Meyiwa and had reportedly arrived from Durban to visit Meyiwa on the day that he was fatally shot.
Madlala has testified that on the night of the incident, a short male intruder with dreadlocks and wearing a hat had entered the house in the sitting area where they had been watching TV, pointed a gun at them and demanded cellphones and money.
According to Madlala, at that moment, Twala quickly ran towards the assailant, pushed him and ran out of the house.
Madlala said as the commotion started and some of the occupants in the house started fighting the assailant with the intention to run out, he Meyiwa in the kitchen, pinning a second intruder, tall and male, to the kitchen floor.
He further testified that when a deafening gunshot went off, he ran to one of the bedrooms in the house and hid there a while before coming out to find Meyiwa had been shot in the chest.
On Madlala's testimony in court, Nomalanga suggested she did not believe the version he put before the court.
“Tumelo’s behaviour has surprised us a lot as someone who was Senzo's best friend. If he is now failing to deliver the truth, it's hard [for us]. As I said, there are still more witnesses, we are waiting, we are very hurt that it's taking this long,” she said.
As the proceedings were nearing conclusion on Monday, Ntanzi moved to raise his hand addressing the court.
“Thobane should not be hurt by this development that transpired in this court. The issue is that we just want to fix and correct what emanated here inside this court specifically about myself as accused 2. They originate from the state advocate. We would like Thobane to greet us when he sees us in the street, he should not be cross with us,” Ntanzi said.
After proceedings, Thobane said there was no bad blood between himself and his ex-clients.
“Each and every client has the right to change their mind, to choose their own attorney. There is no bad feeling. This is how the profession is. If the client feels that he will be better with another legal representative, it's not a problem. It's common. It might even be a blessing in disguise. It's not a big deal. We cannot fight over that. I am not upset about it, he [Ntanzi] must not feel unhappy, but that's how the profession works,” he said.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela indicated there were no reasons given for Thobane's termination.
“He needs time to acquaint himself with all that has transpired from the beginning of the trial. For that reason, we cannot proceed as we had intended to proceed. Ramosepele will have to be provided with transcripts of the proceeding from the beginning, and he will have to look at the docket. For that reason, this case was to proceed until end of next week, that will no longer happen because Ramosepele is also not available next week,” he said.
By agreement, the case has been postponed to May 2 2023, proceedings until May 26, thereafter, the matter will again reconvene from June 5 to June 15.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE:
Defence asks if there was fighting when Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead
Longwe Twala is recovered, able to testify in Senzo Meyiwa trial: Chicco
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