The defence lawyer for one of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial told the high court in Pretoria on Tuesday that he wants to do away with evidence that points to Kelly Khumalo shooting the football star by mistake.
Five men returned to the high court for the fatal shooting of Meyiwa at the home of Khumalo in October 2014. The accused deny any involvement in the murder of former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain.
The newly appointed lawyer for Mthobisi Ncube, advocate Charles Mnisi, told the court that he wants this piece of evidence expunged.
“Mr Ncube has instructed me that that was not part of his instruction to the then defence.”
However, state advocate George Baloyi objected. Mnisi will now have to bring a formal application for the piece of evidence to be expunged.
One of the five accused, Bongani Ntanzi, was denied bail on Friday after he failed to provide exceptional circumstances in his application.
Disbarred advocate Maselela Teffo was also seen in court on Tuesday.
Teffo, who previously represented two of the five accused, insisted that there are issues he wants to discuss with presiding judge Tshifiwa Maumela that cannot not be discussed in open court.
“We need to go into the chambers of the judge before this matter can commence,” Teffo said.
Maumela is expected to continue presiding over the matter even though his participation in the trial hangs by a thread.
This because the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Maumela after complaints were levelled against him and another judge, Mngqibisa-Thusi, for failing to deliver reserved judgments in the Gauteng division of the high court.
The JSC has since asked Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to appoint a judicial conduct tribunal to investigate the complaints.
Since the trial began, only three witnesses have testified including Sergeant Thabo Mosia, the forensic police officer who first processed the scene, Sergeant Mlungisi Mthethwa, the first police officer to arrive after the crime, and Tumelo Madlala, Meyiwa’s childhood friend who was one of the people present at Khumalo’s home on the fateful night.
The matter is set down to run until May 26 and will then return in court in June.
The trial continues …
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