Constable Sizwe Zungu was with the accused on the day of Senzo Meyiwa’s murder, but he was too scared to report them, according to lead investigator Brigadier Bongani Gininda.
Gininda said this on Monday at the Pretoria High Court while being cross-examined by accused number five’s defence lawyer, advocate Zandile Mshololo.
Zungu previously stated in his testimony that he was present at the Basotho hostel in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, on the day Meyiwa was killed, along with the other five accused.
He testified in court that he became suspicious when he questioned Gwabini about his state firearm being in his room.
He added that although he did not report them, he saw that Mthobisi Mncube and Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya were in possession of firearms.
Scared to report the accused
As the lead investigator, Mshololo asked Gininda if he ever asked Zungu why he did not report the accused.
“I am talking about the reliability of this testimony. Did you ask him [Zungu] if he reported it?” asked Mshololo.
Gininda replied that he did ask.
“And he indicated that he did not,” said Gininda.
“He said he was scared because he saw that the accused were hitmen, and that’s the reason why he did not come forth with this information.
“We did not proceed with this because the trial had already started.”
Fisokuhle Ntuli, a client of Mshololo, claims that Zungu was not scared to report because nothing of that sort happened.
He viewed them as hitmen
“The statement is clear that he viewed them as hitmen, so how could he not be scared?” Gininda asked.
Mshololo went on to ask Gininda if he knew that Hawks detective Warrant Officer Meshack Makhubo, a state witness, denied that Ntuli was responsible for Meyiwa’s murder.
Gininda responded: “I am. I see that it was dismissed, but what I don’t see is the basis of this dismissal when there is no investigation to support the dismissal.”
In response, state prosecutor advocate Charles Baloyi stated that Makhubo was a defence witness and that the assertion that he is a state witness is false.
The trial continues…
