Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates football player Senzo Meyiwa.
A state witness in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Constable Nkosingphile Maphumulo, told the Pretoria high court on Friday that he was not among the people who allegedly assaulted accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya.
Maphumulo took the stand as a witness in the continuing “trial within a trial” to determine whether confessions made by Sibiya and another accused, Bongani Ntazi, are admissible.
Sibiya and Ntanzi are among five men accused of killing the Bafana Bafana captain at the home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo on 26 October 2014 in Vosloorus, Gauteng.
Maphumulo told the court that he was called by Colonel Bongani Gininda on 30 June 2020 and asked to transport Sibiya to the Diepkloof police station, together with his colleague Constable Nakedi Monareng. There, the suspect is said to have made a confession about Meyiwa’s murder to Colonel Mhlanganyelwa Mbotho.
During cross-examination by defence advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, representing both Sibiya and Ntanzi, Maphumulo said he saw no visible injuries on the accused.
Mngomezulu has previously told the court that Sibiya was coerced and tortured into making a confession.
“My instruction is that he was arrested on 30 May 2020. During his arrest, he was then taken to Vosloorus, next to a municipality area, where he was assaulted and tortured with a plastic bag on his head,” the defence lawyer reiterated on Friday.
“Thereafter, he was transported to Alberton and, during that time, he was assaulted in the presence of Colonel Mbotho.”
He questioned how Maphumulo would have pleaded if Sibiya had the chance to open a case against him.
“I would plead not guilty,” Maphumulo responded.
Mngomezulu also questioned Maphumulo’s professionalism after he admitted he had not taken notes about events on the day in question because he did not have a notebook on him at the time.
Asked by the lawyer how he could prove to the court that he was on duty on 30 May 2020, if he had not recorded anything in a notebook, Maphumulo said there was a log at the office of when officers reported for duty.
The five men on trial have all pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.