Meyiwa's childhood friend tells court he was tortured to admit to murder

Senzo Meyiwa’s childhood friend Mthokozisi Thwala told the Pretoria high court on Wednesday he was tortured by police who were trying to force him to confess to murdering the footballer.

Thwala was in the hot seat in May when he was cross-examined in the first trial — before the case started afresh under a new judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng — on details about the scuffle that took place in the Vosloorus home where Meyiwa was killed on October 26 2014.

On Wednesday, Thwala once again took to the witness box to say how he was allegedly tortured by police for about six hours during the investigation.

Thwala told the court that on January 12 2019, he was fetched by Lt-Col Joyce Buthelezi and W/O Meshack Makhubo from Durban for an identity parade in Pretoria, only to be tortured and assaulted.

Thwala said when they arrived at police offices, he was placed in what he identified as Buthelezi’s office. Thwala said he got there about 10:10pm. 

“When I asked her about the ID parade, she said it will happen,” he said.

He told the court Buthelezi later left the office, claiming she was going to prepare for the identity parade.

After Buthelezi left, two men entered the office.

“One came and took my phone and asked me who I was talking to. As I was wondering who they were, one asked me: ‘Who killed Meyiwa?’” Thwala said.

Thwala told the court that he was assaulted by the police who kept saying he killed Meyiwa.

“They were kicking me, slapping me with their open hands on my back, they first started using their hands.

“I started to apologise not knowing what I was apologising for. I think they wanted me to agree and write it down,” he said.

He detailed how one of the men walked out and came back with a bag of tools used to torture him.

“In the bag, he placed it on the table and they assaulted me for a good 45 minutes to an hour. On my back, on the front part of my body, they would also trample on me with their boots,” Thwala said.

He detailed how he was tied with a big rope that is used to tie cows.

“As I was lying on the floor looking up, they turned me around and I lay on my chest, they then tied my hands at the back and my feet. They tied my hands and feet jointly together.

“They then took out a mat and placed it underneath my private part. From the mat, they took out something like a tube and started tubing me, closing my mouth and nose and tying it at the back suffocating me so I couldn't breathe,” he said.

Thwala said the torture happened from about 11:30pm until about 5am.

“They kept on taking turns. The police abused me very much. Including Buthelezi because she was the driving force behind what was happening.

“Those people abused me for close to six hours. I urinated on myself, so when they put that mat there they knew what was going to happen. What hurt me the most is that the people who are supposed to protect us are the very same people who were abusing me,” he told the court.

Testifying about another ID parade he attended at Pietermaritzburg prison, Thwala said he remembers pointing out that one of the people had similar features to the first intruder who had entered the house. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Thwala described the chaotic scenes at a Vosloorus hospital in October 2014 upon news that Meyiwa had died after being shot.

Thwala said before they got to the hospital, Meyiwa was holding his hand to show he was alive. However, when Meyiwa sat in the hospital's emergency parking section, his hand was limp and could not hold on to him.

“I could see while sitting with him ... I took his hand, but he just let go, it was limp and he was no longer gasping. You could see it was either his soul leaving, or had already left,” Thwala said. 

Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa's murder. They have pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues on Thursday.

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