The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has been adjourned to Monday to allow advocate Zandile Mshololo, who represents accused number five, to carefully examine the “questionable” second docket.
This after the high court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday that the second docket was initially only disclosed to advocate Malesela Teffo.
Teffo represents four of the five men accused of killing Meyiwa at the home of his then-girlfriend and baby-mama Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg on October 26 2014.
Mshololo asked the court to give her some time to study the docket before she continued with her cross-examination of police officer Thabo Mosia. She stated that she only received the docket in the morning.
According to Mshololo, Mosia deposed an affidavit in the second docket hence the request for a postponement. She also told the court that she needed clarity on the existence of the two dockets in one trial, as they name different suspects and charges.
“The non-disclosure of such documents to accused [number] five violated his rights to be given further particulars, all the information in possession of the state, to be able to prepare for his defence. I cannot make submissions until I talk to the author of this document,” said Mshololo.
The two dockets came under scrutiny during Teffo’s cross-examination of Mosia last week, when he insisted that a different docket opened in 2019 listed seven witnesses found at the crime scene as the suspects who should be charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice.
Teffo told the court that according to the docket, Longwe Twala, Kelly Khumalo, her mother Gladness, and sister Zandi ought to have faced charges, adding that the gun that killed the Bafana Bafana star was brought to the house by Twala.
Khumalo’s lawyer Magdelene Moonsamy said she would demand to see the second docket that purportedly implicated the afro-pop star as the killer. This after Teffo told the court last week that a witness would testify that Khumalo is the one who pulled the trigger “by mistake”.
Moonsamy maintains that her client is not a suspect and that she is awaiting her day in court. “We cannot be slamming allegations around without testing them. This is sensationalist,” she said.
“The intimidation of myself and my client has been longstanding. We are not going to fold our arms. We have been silent for too long. We will be taking action following these allegations. We want to know who is this eyewitness that will testify against my client.”
Muzikawukhulelwa S’tembu Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa’s murder, which some believe was a robbery gone wrong.
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