Investigating officer Brigadier Bongani Gininda has denied that he offered R3 million to accused two, Bongani Ntanzi, to implicate the "right people" in the murder of football star Senzo Meyiwa. (Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Mudslinging, accusations of an unprepared defence team and “insults” dominated what was supposed to be the start this week of the trial into the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, before it was postponed again for one of the accused to better prepare.
On Tuesday, at the Pretoria high court, advocate Zandile Mshololo, who represents accused number five, Fisokuhle Ntuli, said the state’s tardiness in only giving the defence witness statements two weeks before the trial’s expected start on Monday, 11 April had hampered her preparations and necessitated her application for a five-working-day postponement.
Mshololo asserted that, should her application not be granted, it would be tantamount to a violation of her client’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
She needed the five days “to verify information contained in the statements from defence witnesses who are not here in Pretoria and are in KZN [KwaZulu-Natal]”, and in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
“Had we been given the statements, my lord, at least a month ago, we would be in a position to proceed with this matter at this stage.
“My lord, it is my submission, further, that accused number five will suffer prejudice if he is not given opportunity to get further particulars from the state,” Mshololo said, adding that the particulars would enable Ntuli to formulate a defence and his plea explanation.
Ntuli, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Ncube and Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa are charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, possession of firearms without a licence and the illegal possession of ammunition.
Meyiwa, the former goalkeeper and captain of football club Orlando Pirates, as well as national team Bafana Bafana, was murdered in October 2014 at the family home of his lover, singer Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus, Gauteng.
Advocate George Baloyi, the prosecutor, accused Mshololo of coming to court “not prepared” for the case, adding that the court registrar had circulated a voice recording on Friday, 8 April, in which Mshololo mooted an application for a week-long postponement because she was not ready.
“What I find preposterous is that they require five days. I don’t know how you can do interviews in Durban and Johannesburg in five days,” Baloyi said.
His contention drew the ire of Mshololo, who said it was “an insult” for Baloyi to hint that her application was a delaying tactic as a result of being unprepared.
But Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela agreed with the prosecutor, and made clear to Mshololo to that her client’s rights did not supersede those of his co-accused, as well as the Meyiwa family, which wanted justice for their slain relative.
“That family also has rights to know what happened and to know the consequences of what happened from a legal point of view. While we speak [about] rights and talk about rights, we cannot talk about that also as one-sided,” the judge stressed.
“So it will help if clarity is attained that it will not be a one-way direction. It’s not like this thing came out of the woods or in the recent past. From day one when arrests happen, you know you have to prepare your defence.
Maumela added that, beyond the five days, the court needed to start with the trial.
The judge accepted the reasons advanced by the state that it had delayed the disclosure of the statements until two weeks before the trial’s start in order to protect the identities of witnesses who had raised safety concerns and had to be placed under protection.
Explaining these reasons on Monday, Baloyi said: “So fearful are those witnesses that we had to delete their names and addresses when disclosing these statements.”
On Tuesday, Maumela warned Mshololo not to be selfish when accusing the state of withholding the statements in order to protect the witnesses.
“To you, it doesn’t matter who lives or dies, as long as you’re representing your client,” the judge said.
When asked to comment on the postponement application advocate Dan Teffo, who is representing the other four accused, said he was “vehemently opposed to any postponement of this case”.
“My clients, accused one to four, require an expeditious trial. If there is a postponement today, it will be prejudicial to my clients,” Teffo said.
Despite Teffo’s objections and Maumela’s reservations, the judge still granted Mshololo’s application and postponed the trial to 22 April.
Maumela however emphasised that, after the five-day postponement, the court would start the trial.
Meanwhile, advocate Gerrie Nel from lobby group Afriforum, which has a watching brief on behalf of the Meyiwa family, said Mshololo’s application was reasonable, while also welcoming Maumela’s assertion that the late footballer’s relatives also had a right to justice.
“We are impressed with the fact that the court said, although the accused have rights in terms of the Constitution, so does the family. Society also has rights for this matter to start and finish,” Nel said.
He was alluding Baloyi’s statement in court that, because Senzo Meyiwa was a national team captain, who was revered by millions of South Africans, the public also wanted to see the conclusion of the late sport star’s trial.
All the accused will be remanded in custody until the trial’s start on 22 April.
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