The more than four hours the police spent in the vicinity of Verwoerdpark in Alberton the night before accused 2 in the Senzo Meyiwa trial, Bongani Ntanzi’s first alleged confession will come into sharp focus when the defense starts the cross-examination of Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane today.
On the back of allegations of torture, assault, tubing and choking which, as asserted by the defense, the police allegedly subjected Ntanzi to as they allegedly coerced him into signing prepared confession statements, questions remain following vehicle tracking information of the 18th of June 2020.
Vehicle tracking records show that Mogane’s Toyota Fortuner on that day was parked in the vicinity of Verwoerdpark in Alberton from just before 20h00 until it left for Pretoria after midnight, on the 19th of June.
Mogane has been testifying on his car movements the day he and his colleague, the late Sergeant Steven Mabena, transported Ntanzi to Moroka in Soweto, Vosloorus, back to Moroka, then Phokeng in Rustenburg on the 19th before they then travelled to Primrose where Ntanzi was then detained in the wee hours of the 20th.
During Mogane’s re-examination, State Prosecutor, Advocate George Baloyi, introduced the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system records of the Toyota Fortuner that Mogane drove on the day.
However, Baloyi did not deal with the movements of the 18th of June – the day Ntanzi was booked out of the Moot Police Station just after 8 o’clock in the morning and was transported to his workplace in Westonaria and Alberton before he was booked back at the police station at 02h30 of the 19th of June.
Defense counsel, Thulani Mngomezulu, is expected to start the cross-examination of Mogane later today on how exactly he spent the 18 hours with Ntanzi the day before the alleged confession at the Moroka Police Station on the 19th of June 2020 – this including the more than four hours the car was parked in Alberton.
According to the accused’s version, before he was forced to sign confession statements, firstly on the 19th of June in Moroka and secondly on the 24th of June 2020 at the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court, he was taken to Alberton where he was assaulted and tortured. He was then taken to an area next to a dumping place in Germiston, then to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital as well as an area next to disused ATMs in Orlando, Soweto.
All the police officers who have testified have denied Ntanzi was assaulted before he signed confession statements.
Car tracking records of the 19th show no stops by the police on their way to Moroka Police Station, except for one stop in Alberton on the second visit to the same destination later in the day before Ntazi was taken to Phokeng.
Mogane says they stopped to buy water at a local shopping centre.
Proceedings are first expected to commence with the state making available car tracking information on the other car that Mogane used to transport Ntanzi on the 22nd and 24th of June to Rustenburg and Boksburg respectively.
Before matters were stood down on Tuesday, Mngomezulu told the court that the state had verbally informed him there were no records of Mogola’s Fortuner on those dates as he’d used a different car.
The defense has demanded the state to make those records available.
“My lord, I do have questions for the witness, but I would like to place this on record that the AVL bearing the records of the 22nd of June 2020 was not discovered to the defense on the reasons that the said motor vehicle that the witness is testifying about was not used on that day, as per the state. And the 24th of June 2020; it has also been said by the state that the said motor vehicle was not used on that day,” said Advocate Mngomezulu for accused 1 and 2.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng the state to make the records of the car Mogane was driving on those dates available.
Senzo Meyiwa Murder Trial | 15 November 2023:
