Those who witnessed Senzo Meyiwa's murder were not treated as suspects, court hears

According to the first crime scene expert who went to the Vosloorus house where footballer Senzo Meyiwa was murdered, people in the home were not treated as suspects.

During cross-examination in the Pretoria high court by advocate Zithulele Nxumalo, for Mthokoziseni Maphisa, Sgt Thabo Mosia conceded it did not occur to him that the witnesses could have been suspects.

“My investigations are directed to the perpetrators more than the victims,” he said.

Nxumalo pointed out that the bedroom door Mosia failed to take swabs from was the bedroom Meyiwa's childhood friend Tumelo Madlala ran to after the gun went off.

On Thursday, proceedings wrapped up early with a confused Mosia who was under cross-examination and being probed about the bedroom doors he took swabs from.

The court heard from Mosia that he failed to take swabs from the kitchen door, which was the entry point of the alleged intruders, or conduct prime residue tests on the people in the house.

Earlier, he said the crutches used to assault the intruder were also not treated as evidence.

Revisiting the swabbing issue, Mosia argued he did not take swabs from one of the bedroom doors for a reason.

“As a knowledgeable person, I used my knowledge that the family can use the room which is a main bedroom because I did not receive instruction that affects that bedroom,” he said.

Nxumalo put it to him: “Your knowledge is flawed because you were there as a forensic investigator.”

In response, Mosia disagreed, stating he executes his duties based on the instructions he receives during his investigations. He said on that day no-one gave him specific instructions, and he used facts he picked up.

When asked about Meyiwa’s exact position in the kitchen, Mosia said based on his reconstruction of the scene his inference would be Meyiwa had his back to the kitchen door and was somewhere in the middle of the kitchen.

After being reminded by Nxumalo that he had told the court he is a forensic investigator, Mosia said he is a crime scene attendant.

The duties of a crime scene attendant entailed documenting the scene in photos, searching for exhibits and documenting them in photos. “To also compile, pack the evidence and transport it to where it is supposed to be transported and to give evidence in court,” he said.

Mosia testified he arrived at the home at about 12.20am on October 27 2014, where he received a report on what happened and was shown what to photograph.

His statement revealed the crime was reported four hours after it had occurred and the delay might have compromised evidence at the scene.

The trial is expected to continue on Monday when cross-examination of Mosia is expected to be wrapped up. 

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