The five people on trial — Ncube, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokozisi Maphisa, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Fisokuhle Ntuli — have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition. (Gallo Images/OJ Koloti)
State witness and forensic analyst Captain Mmampshedi Masetla, who collected DNA at the Senzo Meyiwa murder scene in 2014, told the Pretoria high court on Tuesday that the hat said to have been left behind by the intruders did not match any of the five accused.
When the trial started from scratch in July after a change in presiding judges, the first state witness, Zandile Khumalo, told the court that a hat had been left by one of the intruders in the kitchen of her home in Vosloorus, Gauteng, where the Bafana Bafana captain was shot dead in what the state says was a robbery gone wrong.
Masetla, who has over 15 years of experience in the field, took the stand to explain the contents of the DNA samples.
“A DNA result with XY chromosomes is male and one with XX chromosome is female. For us to say you are a contributor to a DNA mixture, you must be in all the regions,” Masetla said.
“There is a Scotch hat and that particular Scotch hat that was found on the scene excludes all suspects.”
State prosecutor advocate George Baloyi asked Masetla to clarify the factors that can lead to a suspect’s DNA not being found at the crime scene in general.
“For me, it will be common knowledge to say if your DNA is not found on the scene, for me it would say you did not touch anything on the scene but I would not want to go too much into that,” Masetla said.
During cross-examination defence advocate Sipho Ramosepele, representing accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, asked Masetla to comment on Khumalo telling the court that the hat belonged to one of the intruders.
“It would be difficult to comment on what other witnesses have said, as I have mentioned in my report that the DNA that was obtained on the rim of the hat excluded the suspects,” Masetla responded.
Masetla began his testimony on Monday, after the defence accused the state of withholding evidence and opposed its request to call Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane to give evidence on the records downloaded from the cell phones confiscated from accused number two in the case, Bongani Ntanzi, and the fifth accused Fisokuhle Ntuli.
The five men on trial for Meyiwa’s 2014 killing at the family home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, sister to Zandile, have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.