THE murder trial of Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and captain Senzo Meyiwa has been postponed to Monday, 13 June.
This after defence lawyer Advocate Zandile Mshololo requested the postponement due to receiving another docket on Wednesday, 8 May.
Mshololo said the statement was given to her in court and she engaged the state requesting the second docket opened for the murder.
She said her client, Fisokuhle Ntuli, had been prejudiced by the state, and she needed time to read the second case docket then continue to cross-examine Sergeant Thabo Mosia.
Mshololo further said the non-disclosure of the docket violated Ntuli’s constitutional rights to prepare for defence.
She said it showed there was a conflict of interest, and could not continue until the author of the docket and charge sheet confirmed the contents. She said it showed two charges.
“The first count is of murder and the second of defeating the ends of justice by hatching a plan to deceive the police that they were robbed at gunpoint, and that Maggie Phiri cleaned the crime scene.
“This document is relevant for preparation of accused number five’s defence case in that exhibit D that contains the facts of this case, but it was opened later in 2019,” she said.
“And in Exhibit D, the director of public prosecutions had decided that Longwe Twala, Kelly Khumalo, Gladness Khumalo, Zandie Khumalo, Tumelo Madlala, Mthokozisi Thwala and Phiri be charged,” she said.
She added that she needed to understand how five people were charged with killing Meyiwa when there was another docket opened, charging those who were in the house.
Last week Advocate Malesela Teffo, representing four of the accused, told the court that an eyewitness would testify that Khumalo, who was Meyiwa’s girlfriend, allegedly shot him by mistake.
Standing on behalf of absent Advocate Teffo, attorney TT Thobane said although they didn’t object to the postponement, they were pleading that it would not be lengthy as accused number three had received threats on Tuesday, 7 June.
“A lengthy postponement could be risky,” he said.
At the start of the proceedings, Mshololo read an extract from Gladness Khumalo’s affidavit, stating that one intruder took a Samsung S4 from her hands.
Reading from Zandie Khumalo’s statement, Mshololo stated she said she saw one intruder fighting with her mother and taking her phone.
After reading the extracts, she asked Mosia whether, as an expert working the scene, he received information that there was a robbery prior to Meyiwa being fatally shot.
Mosia said: “I didn’t ask anything from the witnesses. When I received the call assigning me to the scene, I was informed that it was a house robbery and murder.”
However, he changed and said he might have asked what was stolen from the home, but he was not certain until the original docket was brought from the crime scene management office.
Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Ntuli arre facing charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. They have all pleaded not guilty.
