The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial continues in the high court in Pretoria on Friday with the fourth state witness, the SA Police Service’s Colonel Lambertus Steyn, taking the stand.
On Thursday, Steyn testified what the police found from cellphone downloads of the people who were in the house at the time of the shooting, except the stolen phone and Meyiwa’s.
Earlier in the day, singer Kelly Khumalo’s neighbour Nthabiseng Mokete gave a description of the men she saw fleeing after gunshots rang out on the night Meyiwa was murdered.
Mokete said one of the people had dreadlocks while the other was wearing a hoodie jacket.
She said she could not remember the thickness of the dreadlocks or the colour of the hoodie given that the incident happened nine years ago.
Mokete, the second neighbour to take the stand since the trial resumed from scratch over a week ago, said she did not talk about this to police when giving a statement in 2014.
She said this was because she was never asked for specific details, emphasizing that she only responded to what she was being asked.
She remained adamant that although she could remember the physique of one of the persons that fled, the hairstyle and the hoodie, she still could not remember their faces.
“I cannot identify them because I did not see their faces. That is what I meant in my statement, as I answered questions that I was asked,” Mokete said.
“Perhaps it is the manner in which the question was asked, but I am adamant that I saw the men as I describe them.
“If I remember correctly, the officer asked me if I would identify the men if they stood in front of me and I said ‘no’, because I did not see them.”
She said she was sitting in a car parked outside her home in Vosloorus when she saw the first man flee after the first gunshot, then two others followed after the second gunshot.
A third gunshot rang out after the men had fled the scene.
She revealed that the first two gunshots had at least 15 minutes intervals between them, while the third blast followed the second shortly.
Mokete said she realised what was happening when Zandie Khumalo, sister to then-Meyiwa’s girlfriend Kelly, came running towards her screaming that the footie had been shot and she should call an ambulance.
“I didn’t call the ambulance because I was also shocked. I saw people running and heard gunshots. I could not think straight,” said Mokete.
She later revealed that Zandie was crying and so was the whole family at the hospital.
Asked if these were genuine tears or crocodile tears, she dismissed with a response that she has never seen tears of a crocodile.
Upon return to the Khumalo home from the hospital, Mokete said she went up from the bedroom where they were sitting into the kitchen to get water – regardless of the restricted movement.
She showed the police a silver object and has no idea what happened afterwards.
“It was very small and silver in colour, if I remember. The police told me not to touch anything and go back to the bedroom. I then don’t know what happened to the item.”
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