Senzo Meyiwa's coffin arrives during the funeral service of the late Senzo Meyiwa (South African and Orlando Pirates captain) at Moses Mabhida Stadium on November 01, 2014 in Durban, South Africa. Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead in Vosloorus on the East Rand last Sunday, October 26, 2014. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
A dentist and state witness in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Thabang Hlokwe, told the Pretoria high court that second accused Bongani Ntanzi did not have a gold tooth as the prosecution had previously claimed.
On Friday, Hlokwe, who examined Ntanzi on 22 June 2020 in Rustenburg, read the contents of the medical report he compiled, saying Ntanzi was brought to him by police officers and prison wardens.
“In this situation, the cop indicated the patient came for an oral examination. The policeman said I must check if the patient had a gold tooth,” Hlokwe testified.
The dentist has been practising for three years, and was doing mandatory community service as part of his training at the time he examined Ntanzi.
Last year, state witness Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane told the court that he had examined Ntanzi to check if he ever had a gold tooth. This followed the state’s contention that one of the alleged intruders on the day Meyiwa was shot and killed had a gold tooth.
But Hlokwe told the court that Ntanzi had no signs of oral abnormality and no physical injuries. The defence has asserted that Ntanzi was assaulted and tortured on several occasions in various places to force him to sign confession statements between 19 and 24 June 2020, a month after he was arrested.
“General appraisal — normal; TM joints — normal; lymph nodes — normal; intra-oral exam — normal; lips and buccal mucosa — normal; pharynx and tonsils — normal; floor of mouth — normal,” Hlokwe said, reading from his medical report.
Asked by the state prosecutor whether there were signs that Ntanzi was assaulted, Hlokwe said: “From the appearance, since he was wearing casual clothes, I did not see any signs of possible electrocution or tubing. No bruises and markings of choking.”
Hlokwe is the last state witness in the “trial within a trial”, which seeks to rule on the admissibility of confessions allegedly made by Ntanzi and Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, the first accused, after their arrest.
The two are accused alongside Mthobisi Ncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli for the October 2014 murder of the former Bafana Bafana captain at the family home of his lover, singer Kelly Khumalo.
Defence advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, representing Ntanzi and Sibiya, questioned Hlokwe on whether his client had given consent to the dentist to examine him.
Hlokwe explained that when a patient walks into the consulting room, they are told about the examination and have the right to say yes or no to being examined.
“Yes, in any standard, we even tell them what we are going to check them for. When the patient says they agree, we proceed. The patient did allow me to assess him,” added Hlokwe.
But Mngomezulu argued that Hlokwe went beyond his duties on examining his client and emphasised that he was not a pulmonologist — a doctor that specialises in respiratory conditions.
The five accused, who are all in custody, have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.