The murder of former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was poorly investigated because of a lack of expertise and experience, the Pretoria High Court heard on Friday.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo, who represents accused number five, scrutinised state witness Sergeant Patrick Mthethwa’s expertise at the time when Meyiwa was murdered on October 26 2014, arguing that he was not qualified to handle such a case.
Mshololo asked Mthethwa to divulge to the court information about what his highest qualification obtained at the time was, to which Mthethwa refused to answer, telling the court that he does not understand the importance of the question.
However, under Mshololo’s grilling Mthethwa, who testified on Thursday that he went to the crime scene with his colleague Sergeant Mathebula, revealed that they were both juniors at the time, telling the court that he only had about five years of experience.
The court also heard that he had a certificate that he said he obtained during his training at the SAPS. Cracking under pressure, Mthethwa also revealed that he travelled with two others who were students, meaning it was four of them who attended the crime scene.
When asked why he lied in his testimony on Thursday, he said he did not want to mention the others because “they were students”.
“This case has been poorly investigated because it was attended by inexperienced officials,” said Mshololo.
The court also learnt that the crime scene in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, which is the house of Kelly Khumalo’s mother, Gladness, was left unattended for about an hour while Mthethwa and his colleagues were at the Botshelong Hospital where Meyiwa had been transported after the shooting.
Mthethwa testified that they did not notice anything when they first arrived at the crime scene, and were told by Gladness’ brother, Themba Khumalo, that the person who was shot had been rushed to the hospital.
He said they did not think the house was a crime scene and that they believed Themba when he said he did not have much information about what had happened, hence they went to the hospital to get more information from the people who had transported Meyiwa.
The court heard that a BMW, which was mentioned by Mthethwa on Thursday, was allegedly being driven by Kelly at the time.
Mthethwa said he did not ask for her name because his colleagues had recognised her and shared the musicians name to him, but still he did not know who Kelly was at the time.
According to Mthethwa, when they arrived at the hospital gate, Kelly was driving out. She stopped to ask if they were coming from her home, to which they responded with a yes. Kelly then told them that Meyiwa had died and that his body was still inside the hospital.
She said she was going to drop off her male friend whom she was travelling with, but also advised that the officers would find her mother who can help them with the information.
The court heard that the four inexperienced police officers let Kelly go and proceeded to the hospital where they met Gladness, who agreed to return to the house with them to explain what had happened.
Mthethwa said Gladness told them that two men had entered the house carrying firearms. She also showed them a hat, a projectile, and a crush.
Mshololo, who asked Mthethwa if he knows what had transpired at the house during the hour when he left Themba alone to lock up, revealed that the crime scene was tempered with by the neighbours who came in and cleaned it up.
She asserted that the police only arrived after the scene had been tempered with, chased everyone away, and cordoned it off.
“Let me tell you, a statement by Sylvia Happy Ngubeni says: ‘When I arrived the doors were closed. Myself, Maggie Phiri and Julia went inside the house. The reason I went in was that I wanted to see what happened. There was water on the floor’.”
Mshololo addressed Mthethwa: “This is what was happening when you were not there. Ngubeni further states that Maggie Phiri was picking up empties [beer bottles] on the floor. She asked Phiri why, and she said she didn’t want the police to see [that] people were drinking.
“Ngubeni’s statement further reads that police only arrived after all the above had happened and they went inside the house and cordoned off the scene and instructed all [the] people to go out of the yard.”
Mthethwa tried to argue that the crime scene could have been cleaned up before the arrival of the police for the first time, adding that they even saw blood at the scene. “Just a couple of blood spots,” said Mthethwa.
But Mshololo read the statement again, until Mthethwa agreed with her. “The paragraph is clear, it says: ‘Immediately after we cleaned the crime scene, [the] police arrived and cordoned it off’,” insisted Mshololo.
More evidence that Thabo Mosia, the state’s first witness, may have also lied in his testimony also emerged when Mthethwa revealed that Mosia arrived after (the late) Brigadier Ndlovu, and that he was guided through the scene by Captain Zwane.
According to Mthethwa, they came first, then Zwane was followed by Mosia who had testified earlier in the trial that he arrived on the scene after midnight. Mthethwa has disputed Mosia’s testimony.
It also emerged during advocate Tshepo Thobane’s cross-examination of Mthethwa that Mosia had also lied about the witnesses who were in the house.
Mosia had testified that there were people who were in the house when the police arrived, and that they were later taken to another room to prevent contamination of the actual crime scene.
However, Mthethwa told the court that there was no one when the police officers arrived but Themba, who was clueless and pointed them to the hospital.
The trial continues…
Also read: Meyiwa trial: Second witness contradicts Mosia’s testimony
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