Muzi Sibiya, the first accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder case, has told the Pretoria High Court that he feels he is being denied a fair trial.
Sibiya said this on Thursday, accusing the prosecution of repeatedly asking the same questions and evoking painful memories of alleged police assaults.
“I have a problem, my lord, of going back to the same question because this prosecutor keeps asking me the same question,” Sibiya said during cross-examination.
He made this statement in response to a question from state prosecutor George Baloyi about his memory of the number of police cars at the Vosloorus police station prior to his alleged police assault.
“I have been saying I don’t remember how many vehicles were there. I am reminded of my assault by the police because they repeatedly asked me what I knew about Senzo Meyiwa’s death; when I said I knew nothing, they assaulted me.
“I’m faced with the same in this court, and I feel like I’m not getting a fair trial,” he responded.
Baloyi defended his approach.
“We have to test your evidence and ask you questions; that’s the whole purpose of this exercise,” Baloyi said.
However, defence advocate Charles Mnisi objected, accusing the prosecution of badgering the witness.
Badgering a witness
“The witness is correct because this is unlawful. It is called badgering a witness. This procedure does not test credibility because asking the same question repeatedly after already knowing the answer is unfair,” Mnisi argued.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, who is presiding over the matter, did not give a ruling on the allegations.
Sibiya also claimed that Moses Sibiya, not Muzi Sibiya, was written in the document Baloyi was reading from.
“Mr Sibiya, you said your then legal representative [advocate Mngomezulu] made a mistake?” asked Baloyi.
“No, I never said Mngomezulu made a mistake. In the document, Brigadier Bongani Gininda wrote that I am Moses Sibiya, and now the prosecutor is correcting that, saying it is Muzi. Meaning, the prosecutor is involving me in something that Gininda did not involve me in.
“The prosecutor did not correct Gininda when he said Moses, but now the prosecutor says Gininda said Muzi,” he concluded.
Meyiwa, the former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, was shot and killed in 2014 at the home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus.
The case continues.
