Gun used to kill Senzo Meyiwa had been stolen in CIT heist, court hears

The 9mm parabellum pistol found in possession of Mthobisi Prince Mncube and identified as the weapon that killed Senzo Meyiwa had been stolen a  year before the murder during a cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery.

The Pretoria high court, where five men are on trial for the October 2014 murder of the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, on Monday started hearing evidence from Peter Jacobus Smuts of the CIT company SBV.

Smuts confirmed the firearm had belonged to the company and was reported stolen in 2013.

The prosecution's previous witnesses testified the gun fired the fatal shot that killed Meyiwa and was seized from Mncube when he was arrested in connection with a separate taxi-related murder case in Cleveland, Johannesburg, in 2015.

On Monday, examining documentation already presented in court, Smuts said based on what was documented, including the serial number, it proved the firearm belonged to the security company.

Showing the true licence of the firearm, he said it was issued to SBV Services, was a Czech make and the serial number was 8587B.

“It's a 9mm parabellum pistol,” he said.

Smuts said the firearm was stolen at a shopping centre in May 2013 in Rabie Ridge, Johannesburg, when officers of the security company came under attack and were disarmed by suspects.

He said the firearm was reported stolen immediately after the incident and a case was registered. In November 2020, he was called by a Sgt Mulaudzi to write an affidavit verifying the firearm which had been recovered belonged to SBV Services.

He said the firearm was capable of firing 9mm ammunition, including full metal jacket bullets and complete metal jacket.

“The size must just be 9×19mm.”

When judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng asked if there was a way to see if the barrel was the original, he said the barrel number is reflective of the serial number but pointed out it had been scratched off.

He said the serial number was erased on the barrel, slide and the receiver.

However, he pointed out rifling cuts inside the barrel can be used to determine this was the firearm.

Ballistics expert W/O Cornelius Roelofse testified last week that the 9mm parabellum handed into court was the same gun he investigated and tested in an Alexandra murder case. He showed the court he had marked the gun with the lab number under the trigger and marked the blue box found with ammunition with a marker. He said he had managed to retrieve the firearm serial number which was scratched off.

The trial continues.

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