Advocate Zithulele Nxumalo, who represents accused number four in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, has scrutinised the cellphone evidence provided by Colonel Lambertus Steyn.
A year ago, the defence accused retired police colonel and cellphone analyst Lambertus Steyn of fabricating his evidence to implicate the accused in Meyiwa’s murder.
On Monday, Nxumalo argued that Steyn’s technical testimony failed to establish a prima facie case against Maphisa, further justifying the discharge application.
He said this before the Pretoria High Court as the trial resumed with his arguments in a discharge application.
According to Nxumalo, the information from the central database of the South African Police Service (SAPS) was editable, and the state did not call a witness to authenticate it.
Nxumalo said this as he highlighted that Steyn allegedly found cellphone calls between Afro-pop musician Kelly Khumalo and one of the accused.
“The state by this communication intended to prove communication between the
mastermind and accused five.
“Accused five then procured the services of his co-accused in the execution of the murder,” said Nxumalo.
Lawyer points out discrepancies
He further compared the evidence presented by Vodacom’s Pinky Vythilingam, SAPS and Steyn.
Nxumalo highlighted critical discrepancies between the SAPS database records attributed to Steyn and Vythilingam’s cellphone records obtained.
He argued that these inconsistencies undermine the prosecution’s narrative.
“It follows that it is therefore crucial for the state’s case to indicate that the accused entered into an alleged conspiracy agreement with Ms Kelly Khumalo,” Nxumalo stated.
“Failing such proof, the accused cannot be convicted on any of the first three counts against him and, accordingly, not on the fourth and fifth counts.”
The charges are murder, attempted murder, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
He delved into the specifics of the charges against his client, beginning with the count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
“This charge came from the alleged theft of Kelly Khumalo’s Samsung S4 cellphone on the night of Meyiwa’s killing,” he stated.
Targeted hit
Nxumalo pointed out an omission in the state’s presentation.
“Khumalo, the complainant on this count, was never called to testify, despite her being the complainant on that count,” Nxumalo argued.
Highlighting the summary of substantive facts presented in the trial, Nxumalo said Meyiwa died during or after the commission of a robbery gone wrong.
However, Nxumalo contrasted this with testimony from Brigadier Bongani Gininda, a lead investigator, who described the killing as a targeted hit based on his probes.
“This apparent discrepancy, Nxumalo said, “weakens the state’s theory and raises questions about the consistency of the evidence”.
The former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was fatally shot on October 26, 2014, at the home of Khumalo, in what prosecutors allege was a botched robbery turned deadly.
