Senzo Meyiwa Murder Trial Faces Possible Delay After Key State Exhibit Goes Missing
- An intensive search is underway for a missing exhibit in the ongoing Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
- Senzo Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, was shot and killed in Vosloorus in October 2014
- The State confirmed a previous search for the missing exhibit had already been conducted
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
PRETORIA — The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial hit a fresh obstacle on Friday, 14 August, when the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria was informed that a hat forming part of the State's exhibits has gone missing.
An active search is still under way for the exhibit, as the court heard that this is not the first time authorities have attempted to locate the item. An earlier search, conducted around the start of the case, yielded no results.
The State confirmed that a new, more concentrated effort was now in progress and expressed hope that final information would be available at the latest, early the following week.
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Chain of custody under scrutiny
Attention has shifted to the movement of the hat through official channels.
Prosecutors explained that standard practice at the time required a cluster representative to collect exhibits from the biology unit at the forensic science laboratory and deliver them to the relevant police station.
Authorities are now seeking to identify who collected the hat from that unit and have requested an affidavit from that individual. Establishing that information could help determine where the exhibit went after it left the laboratory.
The court was told that the missing hat, alongside a separate legal dispute, could slow the progress of questioning. Proceedings continued on other aspects of the case while the parties awaited feedback on the search.
What you need to know about the Senzo Meyiwa trial
- 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.
- The matter was hit by a further postponement as a defence lawyer wasn't ready to proceed after a two-month delay.
- Confusion reigned in court after defence lawyer Charles Mnisi asked for leave of absence as he was running the Comrades Marathon.
- Proceedings in the trial were delayed following a debate in the courtroom over gold teeth and selfies.
Judge Mokgoatlheng tells an advocate to shut up
Briefly News reported that Judge Mokgoatlheng grew frustrated with the lawyers during the ongoing Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.
Judge Mokgoatlheng snapped at Advocate Charles Mnisi during proceedings, telling him to shut up at one stage during proceedings.
South Africans weighed in on Judge Mokgoatlheng's comments, sharing mixed reactions to his outburst.
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Source: Briefly News
