Senzo Meyiwa: What You Need to Know About the Latest Development of the Soccer Player's Murder Trial
- South Africa's famed soccer player, Senzo Meyiwa's murder trial finally started on 22 April, eight years after he was killed in a botched robbery
- The murder trial has had many twists and turns with shocking DNA evidence being presented by the defence and the suspects' lawyer getting arrested
- Briefly News takes an in-depth look into the twists and turns that have transpired in the murder trial so far
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The murder trial of prominent South African soccer player, Senzo Meyiwa finally kicked off on 22 April almost a decade after he was killed and following multiple delays in the matter.
Meyiwa was shot and killed one Sunday night, while he was at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo's mother's house, Gladness Khumalo in Vosloorus on 26 October, 2014.
Source: Getty Images
South Africans were devastated when news broke that the Pirates and Bafana Bafana football star was killed in what seemed to have been a robbery that went wrong. Questions around the murder incident led to a few eyebrows being raised with many conspiracy theories now circulating about what could have happened that fateful night.
In October 2020, six years after Meyiwa was killed, police managed to arrest five suspects: Sibiya, Ntanzi, Ncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli, reports the Mail & Guardian. At the time, two of the suspects were said to have made confessions that also led to the arrests of the other implicated individuals, however, the accused individuals have all pleaded not guilty.
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The five suspects are now in court facing charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and the illegal possession of ammunition.
Kelly Khumalo's lawyer asked to leave the courtroom
Drama in the trial began before the first witness could even take the stand. Meyiwa's former lover had instructed her attorney, Magdalene Moonsamy to sit in court proceedings on her behalf and observe, however, the defence was not happy with that.
The defence argued that she did not need to be in court until her client, Kelly Khumalo was called to take the stand. At the request of the defence team, the judge asked Moonsamy to leave the courtroom. Moonsamy had been watching the trial since it began before she was kicked out, reports eNCA.
Senzo Meyiwa's murder trial kicks off with state witness, Sergeant Thabo Mosia
Following the pleas being submitted on Friday, 22 April, Sergeant Thabo Mosia was called to the stand on Monday, 25 April to walk the court through what he saw when arrived at the scene, eight years ago.
Mosia was one of the few officers who were first to arrive at the house in Vosloorus. According to Mosia, he drew a sketch of the scene while another officer took pictures, reports EWN. The sergeant then explained that he returned to the crime scene later on that day with an appointed task team to further investigate the scene.
Mosia told the court that they found a bullet hole behind the kitchen door, where the murder took place and also found a bullet on top of the kitchen cabinet behind a glass jar. The sergeant also noted that there was a hat and walking stick on the kitchen floor.
Pretoria High Court Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela asked Mosia if he believed that the crime scene was tampered with, the prosecutor stated the matter would be discussed at a later stage.
Mosia then testified again on 26 April that he did not believe that the crime scene was tampered with after he was cross-examined by Advocate Malesela Daniel Teffo, who is representing four out five of the accused men.
Teffo asked if Mosia was sure that no one tried to clean up the scene, to which Mosia responded by saying the people in the house were more focused on saving the life of Meyiwa.
"Since I found some evidence on the floor, it shows that the scene had never been tampered with. I think people had to concentrate on saving the victim, who is the deceased," said Mosia.
Mosia is adamant that the crime scene was not tampered with even though the people in the house took four hours to report the incident to the police.
Defence team introduces DNA evidence during the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
On Wednesday, 27 April, a startling revelation shocked many South Africans after the defence stated in court that the hat, Mosia previously testified about had the DNA of a woman and not a man.
Mosia had testified that he believed that the hat found on the crime scene was worn by one of the alleged killers, reports News24. Mosia also stated that the suspect who wore the hat came into the house using the kitchen door and this was backed by a statement given by Meyiwa's singer girlfriend.
Mthobisi Prince Mncube, who is known as accused number three has been fingered as the person who pulled the trigger, however, Teffo noted that could not be possible because Mncube is not a woman.
Defence lawyer in Senzo Meyiwa trial gets arrested
Moments after Judge Maumela postponed the Meyiwa murder trial to 30 May, defence lawyer Advocate Teffo was handcuffed by heavily armed police and sent to jail. According to the Daily Maverick, Teffo was placed in the same holding cells his clients were being kept.
Speaking on eNCA, Teffo accused the Minister of Police Bheki Cele of orchestrating his dramatic arrest. He claimed that Cele feels threatened by the case potentially derailing because of him. Teffo says Cele has been after him since 2020 when he was first arrested.
Teffo claims that Cele was not happy with his involvement in the Meyiwa case and that is why he was arrested. He says he plans to sue the police for the manner he was arrested and the timing.
Teffo was arrested for failing to appear in court for a separate matter earlier this year and was released on R10 000 bail.
Senior detective in Senzo Meyiwa trial suddenly dies
The former head of detectives in Gauteng, Brigadier Philani Ndlovu died on Wednesday, 11 May after suffering from a short illness. The circumstances around his death are not yet clear, however, it has been said he fell ill the day before.
Ndlovu is one of the first officers who arrived at the scene Meyiwa was killed. The National Prosecuting Authority stated that Ndlovu's death would not hamper the trial from moving forward because he was not regarded as a crucial witness, according to News24.
Lumka Mahanjana, the NPA spokesperson explained that they have other witnesses that will testify and give relevant merits to the case and is confident that the prosecution will be successful.
"The State is still confident that it has sufficient evidence to ensure a successful prosecution in this case," said Mahanjana.
Senzo Meyiwa murder case: Suspects’ Advocate Malesela Teffo calls for the trial to resume as soon as possible
Briefly News previously reported that Advocate Malesela Teffo who is representing four of the five men accused of killing soccer star Senzo Meyiwa has asked the high court to resume the trial earlier than planned.
Teffo wrote to the high court for it to consider making an urgent request to bring the trial forward to May 18 rather than the initial proposed date of May 30. He said it would be in the best interest of all parties involved in the case.
The trial was postponed following Teffo's arrest after court proceedings. In his letter, the advocate said the accused he is representing has been receiving death threats from the police.
Source: Briefly News
