A cellphone belonging to an accused in the former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa’s murder case could not be cracked because the software was not working.
This is according to the latest witness, Warrant Officer Thando Ndlovu, who took the stand on Tuesday.
After a delay due to Legal Aid officials being late, Ndlovu gave his testimony.
He concluded his testimony about mobile data that was connected to the case quickly after three defence attorneys indicated they had no further questions for him.
He recited an affidavit that he deposed on October 20 2021, following the taking of the oath in court.
According to Ndlovu, his responsibilities include visiting the scene of the crime, searching and seizing mobile devices, and retrieving data from the devices.
He testified on a cellphone that was allegedly taken from Bongani Ntanzi, the second accused in the case.
Ndlovu said he received the cellphone from two police officers, sergeants Vusimuzi Mogane and Mabena, from the national cold case unit.
Ntanzi, together with his four co-accused, are facing charges of murdering Meyiwa, the former Orlando Pirates captain and shot stopper.
Shot at Kelly Khumalo’s home
Meyiwa was shot and killed at the Vosloorus home of his then-girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, in October 2014, in what was initially believed to be a robbery gone horribly wrong.
“The name of the accused is Bongani Ntanzi,” he read from the affidavit.
“I was found with a gold Samsung J5 cellphone at Villieria police station on February 7, and the police confiscated it.”
He clarified that on February 8, when he received the device, he kept it in a safe because there were other cases he was investigating.
“I only started working on it on October 20 2021,” he said.
According to Ndlovu’s findings, the device had two SIM cards, a Vodacom and an MTN SIM card. “It also had a memory card. The phone was not easily accessible as it had a pattern as a screen lock.”
He said that after he finished analysing the device, he returned it to a sealed bag.
“The findings were burned [stored] in a CD, sealed in the exhibit bag, and kept in a safe waiting for investigators to collect.”
Prosecutor George Baloyi asked: “When was it collected by the investigators?”
Ndlovu said it was collected on September 5 2023, noting that it was Mogane who collected it.
Attorney Sipho Ramosepele asked during his cross-examination if the software that Ndlovu uses at work was unable to crack a cellphone pattern.
“At the time, the software that is able to crack cellphones wasn’t working. I used XYR for the extraction of the cellphone,” Ndlovu responded.
The other three counsels had no questions. The trial continues.
