Judges Matter has condemned advocate Malesela Teffo for making unfounded accusations against Tshifiwa Maumela, a judge presiding over the Senzo Meyiwa trial at the high court in Pretoria.
The coalition’s coordinator, Alison Tilley, said on Monday that the allegations are based on speculation and conjecture, adding that there is no evidence to back them up. Tilley also urged Teffo to withdraw the accusations against the judiciary and Maumela.
“The statements made in advocate Teffo’s letter are a shocking attack on judge Maumela and should be immediately withdrawn. It is deeply distressing that they come from a legal practitioner, as advocates hold a special duty to protect the dignity, reputation and effectiveness of the courts,” said Tilley.
This after Teffo penned a letter dated July 25 to the director of public prosecutions and questioned the authenticity of Maumela. He also declared in the letter that Maumela had never been impartial on the case.
“Therefore, it has been agreed upon yourselves, including the said presiding officer, that you always wanted legal aid to represent accused one to four and found them guilty of the murder of Senzo Robert Meyiwa. The state has always been protective of Kelly Khumalo and others,” wrote Teffo.
Meyiwa was gunned down while visiting his then-girlfriend and baby-mama Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg on October 26 2014. The murder was widely believed to have been a robbery gone wrong.
Earlier in the trial, Teffo told the court during cross-examination of a state witness that one of the defence’s witnesses would testify that Khumalo shot Meyiwa by mistake.
However, he dropped the bombshell on July 12 and announced that he was withdrawing from the trial where he represented accused one to four of the five suspects linked to the murder of the former Bafana Bafana skipper.
Teffo told the courtroom at the time that he was withdrawing from the trial because he had been receiving threats.
However, he made a sharp U-turn last week and announced that he has changed his mind and would continue to represent his clients.
The trial is expected to resume on Tuesday.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
