Warrant Officer Cornelius Roelofse, a seasoned ballistic expert with 22 years of experience, took the stand at the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.
His was to provide crucial testimony related to the firearm found in possession of accused number three, Mthobisi Mncube, in 2015.
One of the critical aspects of Roelofse’s testimony was that the gun found with Mncube, which Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Mangena linked to Meyiwa’s murder, did not match the gun that Tumelo Madlala had talked about.
Roelofse explained that the bullet retrieved from the scene had a thicker cartridge case that would not fit into a .38 special revolver. This is contradictory to earlier belief that a revolver was used to kill Meyiwa.
The initial belief that a revolver was used in the murder stemmed from the absence of cartridge cases at the crime scene.
Revolvers do not eject cartridges when fired. This belief was reinforced by Madlala, Meyiwa’s childhood friend who was present when he was shot dead.
He testified that the intruders wielded a gun with a wheel, a characteristic associated with a revolver.
However, a discrepancy emerged when it was revealed that the gun linked to Meyiwa’s murder was a CZ 75 9mm pistol, the gun discovered in Mncube’s possession during his arrest in February 2015.
Roelofse told the court that the CZ 75 9mm pistol he tested in February 2015 following the arrest was the same firearm linked to the Alexandra case.
He pointed out that the seal number on the gun, when he placed it in the exhibit bag, matched the seal number that Mangena had noted upon receiving the exhibit, indicating that the gun remained consistent throughout.
During the proceedings, concerns were raised about the handling of the firearm by multiple police officers, and the possibility of the barrel being changed.
Roelofse conceded that he would not be aware of such alterations, particularly in the case of CZ 75 guns, which are known for having interchangeable barrels.
In August, Kagiso Tefo, the ex-girlfriend of Mncube, took the stand to give account of events surrounding the suspect’s arrest.
Tefo described the day of the arrest, stating that she had called Mncube to meet her at a bus stop.
Upon his arrival, they were confronted by police officers who apprehended Mncube.
The police went on to conduct a search of their residence during which they discovered a firearm in the wardrobe.
Tefo testified that she denied any knowledge of the firearm while Mncube protested his innocence. Thereafter, Mncube was arrested on the spot.
“They took the firearm and put it in a bag. But before that, they asked if we knew the firearm. I denied and [the accused did not respond],” she testified.
“That is when they said they would arrest both of us. [The accused] asked them to leave me because I knew nothing, and they took him.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
