The cross-examination of Captain Bonginkosi Mtshali in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has exposed several discrepancies in the handling of crucial exhibits.
Mtshali found himself in the hot seat when advocate Charles Mnisi questioned him about the handling of a CZ 9mm pistol believed to be linked to the Meyiwa’s murder.
Mtshali admitted that unsealed exhibit bags were often used during operations due to lack of forensic bags.
However, he defended the practice by expressing concern that using unsealed bags could raise suspicion of impropriety if evidence was later found to have been compromised.
The court heard of his reluctance to handle unsealed exhibit bags, when he emphasized that he wanted to avoid being implicated in any potential misconduct.
He stated: “In my experience, I could foresee that I would have to come here and explain why that bag was not sealed. That would suggest I was involved in something untoward.
“[But] sometimes as an officer on duty, and you do not have a forensic bag and you search someone and notice that they have a gun.
“You will take the firearm and the person to the police station. When you get to the station, you open a docket and arrest the person, then write a statement as the arresting officer.”
Mnisi asked Mtshali if he signed for the firearm when Colonel Christian Mangena collected it. The court heard the standard practice of firearm booking-out did not involve signatures.
Mtshali emphasized that the responsible investigating officer (IO) is the individual accountable for the firearm’s booking-out and its subsequent return.
“We normally do not sign. We just say the gun was taken by so and so. That is why the procedure has now been changed to say we must sign to avoid such situations.
“There is no need for me to book out a firearm. The responsible IO is the one who has to come and book out the gun.”
Mnisi highlighted a discrepancy between Mtshali’s statements and those of Mangena, who collected the firearm in question from ballistics.
Mangena claimed that he retrieved the firearm from an open exhibit bag on July 20 2020.
Mtshali conceded that there was lack of evidence proving that the firearm was kept in a sealed bag for the five years leading up to Mangena’s retrieval of it.
Mnisi suggested that there is a possibility that the firearm retrieved by Mangena might not have been the same one that was initially brought to the Cleveland police station in 2015.
Mtshali withheld his comment on that.
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