Metro police officer Wendell Jonathan denied allegations of assault during his testimony in the trial assessing the admissibility of confessions made by the accused individuals in the Senzo Meyiwa murder case.
Accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, and accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, stand accused of the 2014 murder of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa.
The prosecution has claimed that the two suspects allegedly confessed to the crime before a magistrate.
However, the defence has argued that these alleged confessions were obtained through coercion and assault.
During cross-examination at the Pretoria High Court on Monday, Jonathan confirmed that he was part of a contingent that escorted Ntanzi when he made his alleged confession.
The court heard that he escorted him twice, first from the Moroka police station in Soweto to Vosloorus on June 19 2020, and again on June 24 2020 when Ntanzi was taken from the Moot police station to the Boksburg magistrate’s court.
Assaulted and subjected to abuse
It was during these trips that Ntanzi was assaulted and subjected to extensive physical abuse, according to his lawyer Thulani Mngomezulu, who told the court that his client was also electrocuted while covered in a grey plastic bag.
“You then pushed the front seat back towards the accused, pressed him very hard on his knees with the seat,” said Mngomezulu.
“At that moment, Mabena was putting a grey plastic over his face while Buthelezi was blocking the accused from getting out of the motor vehicle.
“There was a person who poured accused number two with water from the front part of his body. That is when Gininda told [him that] he must tell the truth about the death of Senzo Meyiwa.
“You, Mr Mabena, and Buthelezi were taking turns on the use of this device.”
Jonathan vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that Ntanzi’s condition during transportation was normal and that he had no reason to believe that any medical attention was necessary.
The metro cop further refuted accusations that they were heavily armed during the escort, asserting that they were in standard police uniforms.
He stated that they were dressed in their day-to-day uniforms, which he would not describe as being “heavily armed”.
Asked if he had ever met accused number one Sibiya and if he was involved in his arrest in May, Jonathan denied his alleged involvement, claiming that he only met him in June for the pointing-out exercise.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
