Judge Grants Postponement in Senzo Meyiwa Trial, Advocate Submits Affidavit Requesting More Time

• The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumed at the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, 22 April 2025
• The trial into the murder of the soccer star has faced many postponements and was once again adjourned
• Advocate Charles Mnisi produced an affidavit stating why he was still not ready to proceed with the trial

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has been hit with a further delay as Advocate Charles Mnisi is still not ready to proceed.

Mnisi, who is now representing two of the accused in the matter, asked for more time to prepare after he took over representing accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya.

Mnisi was given the role of representing Sibiya in February 2025, after his former legal representative, Advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, passed away in December 2024.

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Mnisi asks for further adjournment

When the trial resumed at the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, 22 April 2025, all eyes were on Mnisi to see if he would still represent Sibiya. He was previously given two months to prepare and then given another week by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng on Monday, 14 April 2025. Mnisi once again asked for an adjournment, this time presenting an affidavit detailing how much he’s had to do and why he still needed more time.

He also noted how the judge was not very sympathetic to his plight when he had previously asked for an adjournment. Mokgoatlheng previously described Mnisi’s request as an abuse of the system.

In his affidavit, Mnisi said that he understood that justice delayed was justice denied, so he would not have wilfully embarked on a scheme to delay proceedings or hold them at ransom.

Judge grants further postponement

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In response to Mnisi’s affidavit, Mokgoatlheng expressed his unhappiness, but did grant a further postponement.

He also questioned Mnisi as to when he would be ready, to which the defence lawyer said that by 19 May, he would know whether he still had more he needed to cover.

Mnisi then asked for an adjournment so that he could speak to the prosecution to discuss timeframes on when they could provide him with further evidence he required as part of his preparation. When the matter resumed, all parties agreed that they would return on 5 May, where Mnisi would declare how far he had to go or whether he was ready to proceed.

The matter is now adjourned until then.

What you need to know about the trial

• Bank statements contradicted accused number one's claims that he wasn't in Gauteng when Meyiwa was killed.
• One of the men accused of killing former Orlando Pirates star, Meyiwa, admitted that he was in contact with Kelly Khumalo.
• A defence lawyer said that two of the accused's confessions of murder were made under duress.
• Kelly Khumalo was linked with the murder of Meyiwa once more, leaving many to ask why she wasn't arrested.
• Tensions were rising between Judge Mokgoatlheng and Advocate Mnisi during proceedings in the murder trial.

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Defence lawyer Thulani Mngomezulu passes away

Briefly News previously reported that Thulani Mngomezulu, one of the defence lawyers in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, had passed away.

The advocate, who represented accused number one, passed away on 10 December 2024 after a short battle with illness in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.

South Africans speculated that the case was cursed, as it has faced several challenges over the years.

Source: Briefly News