Pretoria High Court judge Tshifhiwa Maumela on Tuesday postponed the murder trial of former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa to September 5 noting that if the rights of accused number five are undermined, the trial will be tainted.
“If the rights of accused one to four are undermined by granting [a] postponement, their right to a speedy trial will be affected. [However] there is more weight on the rights of accused five, the court grants the application for postponement,” said Maumela.
This after advocate Zandile Mshololo, who represents accused number five, asked for a postponement to allow her to get clarity on the existence of two dockets.
Mshololo, whose cross-examination of forensic police officer Thabo Mosia was halted last week, argued that she needed to complete her cross-examination before the court could proceed with submissions pertaining to the second docket.
She added that advocate Malesela Teffo, who represents accused number one to four, was supposed to have questioned the existence of the second docket during his cross-examination. “Now is my turn,” argued Mshololo.
Mshololo said she wants clarity on whether a final decision had been made regarding docket 375 [second docket]. “I want this court to order the DPP [director of public prosecutions] [in] Gauteng to give us an answer.”
She also wants to know the status of those named in docket 375 and whether they would testify as suspect witnesses or accused witnesses.
The second docket came under scrutiny during Teffo’s cross-examination of Mosia in May, 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.
Meyiwa was killed while visiting the home of his girlfriend and baby-mama Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg on October 26 2014.
Teffo told the court that according to the docket Longwe Twala, Khumalo, her mother Gladness, and her sister Zandi ought to have faced criminal charges, adding that the gun that killed the soccer star was brought to the house by Twala.
Currently, under docket 636 which was filed in 2014, 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.
Although the trial has been postponed, Mshololo and state prosecutor George Baloyi have been given another five days to respond to heads of argument by Teffo on the matter of jurisdiction. They will be heard on June 30, while arguments on the jurisdiction will be heard on July 12.
Also read: Second docket in Meyiwa’s murder trial holds no merit – NPA
Teffo questions second docket in Meyiwa’s murder trial
Presence of mystery man in court worries advocate Teffo
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