The trial of the five men accused of the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa has hit a snag, as police data analyst Colonel Gideon Gouws will not be available for cross-examination on Friday.
Consequently, the proceedings have been postponed until Monday, with another witness slated to take the stand.
During the proceedings on Thursday, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu continued his cross-examination of Gouws. He focused on the communication records between the accused individuals.
Mngomezulu probed Gouws on the whereabouts of their cellphones on the day of Meyiwa’s murder. He also questioned the relevance of certain evidence presented.
The state raised objections, stating that Gouws was being asked to speculate on certain matters.
Evidence of Kelly Khumalo communication and accused
Despite objections, Mngomezulu persisted, pressing Gouws on the lack of communication between Meyiwa’s former girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, and one of the accused, as well as the familiarity between the accused individuals before the incident.
“There is evidence that Kelly Khumalo communicated with accused three [Mthobisi Mcube]. I want to prove to this witness [that] there was no communication.”
“Here are numbers ending 358 and ending 498, those are numbers for Khumalo. I have an affidavit by Khumalo to say those were the numbers she was using on the day Senzo was killed. That is just the background. I put it to you that there was no communication between [them].”
Khumalo had eight cellphones. However, evidence that state advocate George Baloyi extracted from another witness’ affidavit contradicts Gouw’s version that the singer only had four phones.
“When I started with this case, I did not do the cellphone 205 but the downloading of two cellphones of accused two and five. Later in the trial, it was requested for Section 205’s to be produced, which we gave to the defence. And then I started with Section 205’s on the accused. My original brief was just for the two cellphone analyses. I do not know about Section 205’s of people that were inside the house,” Gouws recalled.
Defence challenged data expert’s evidence
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng intervened, emphasising the need for evidence to align with the broader context of the case. However, Mngomezulu continued to assert his arguments. He challenged the validity of Gouws’ evidence and highlighted alleged inconsistencies.
Later in the proceedings, Sipho Ramosepele, representing accused number two Bongani Ntanzi, questioned Gouws about the handling of evidence. He also accused the witness of adapting his testimony.
Ramosepele further raised doubts about the relationships between the accused individuals. He suggested that some may not have known each other before the incident.
