Sergeant Mandla Masondo, the police officer who arrested one of the men who are on trial for the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, took the stand in the high court in Pretoria on Monday.
During the arrest in 2015, Masondo found one of the suspects in possession of an unlicensed firearm and 28 rounds of live ammunition.
He testified that he did not explain the rights of the suspect before effecting an arrest, and that there was no evidence linking the confiscated weapon to the murder of Meyiwa.
Meyiwa was killed while visiting his then-girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg on October 26 2014.
Masondo conceded that accused number three’s fingerprints were never taken to match those found on the firearm.
“Accused three cooperated during the search of his room,” he told the court.
Also confiscated when an arrest was effected was the accused cellphone, whose data was later downloaded.
Masondo said he intended to use this data to locate other possible suspects linked to the murder of former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper.
“I requested a phonebook, info, contacts and images. On top of the form is the IMEI number and cellphone number,” he said.
“The make and model of the phone is a Samsung model GTE 2220. The reason for cellphone downloading was to place the suspect on the scene and to get his accomplice.”
The state has not made it clear how it will link Masondo’s evidence to the murder of Meyiwa.
The trial continues …
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