Kelly Khumalo’s movement in and out one of the bedrooms at her mother’s house in Vosloorus during the alleged commotion, according to state witness Tumelo Madlala, is expected to continue to be the point of focus when the Senzo Meyiwa trial continues on Thursday morning.
According to Madlala, moments after two intruders allegedly stormed into the house with the shorter one, wearing a jacket and hat, sporting short dreadlocks, Longwe Twala stood up and pushed the intruder with the gun.
Madlala says it was at this point that a commotion ensued inside the house, with Longwe having left the house, and Kelly Khumalo’s mother and sister, Gladness and Zandi, respectively, using his crutches to assault the armed intruder.
Madlala has told the court that it was during this time that he saw Kelly Khumalo run in and out of one of the bedrooms before she joined her mother and sister in assaulting the armed intruder.
Tumelo Madlala says he decided to help #SenzoMeyiwa who held the taller instruder against the wall because he was his friend and the three ladies fighting the armed intruder were not his friends. #SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial pic.twitter.com/VLR4FBvZpi
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) November 16, 2022
During the post-lunch adjournment on Wednesday, which was preceded by the call for the media to leave the courtroom owing to video footage showing Madlala’s face that seemed to have been leaked out during the live streaming of proceedings, Advocate Zandile Mshololo for accused 5 questioned Madlala on the reasons why Khumalo had to run into one of the bedrooms.
She put it to Madlala that it was not known what Khumalo had in her hands when she emerged from the bedroom and Madlala agreed.
According to Madlala, while the three ladies assaulted the alleged first intruder and Meyiwa held the alleged second intruder against the wall in the kitchen, a shot went off, before he ran into one of the bedrooms. When he came out of the bedroom, Madlala told the court that he found Kelly, Zandi, Gladness, Mthokozisi Thwala and Kelly’s child, with Meyiwa lying on the floor with a bullet wound.
Madlala has admitted in court he was unable to say exactly who shot the former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper but assumed that the alleged intruder with the gun had shot Meyiwa.
Tumelo Madlala admits in court that it is an assumption that the person who fired the shot that killed #SenzoMeyiwa was the person who entered the house with the gun. #SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial pic.twitter.com/YdOVvTqZ8Y
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) November 16, 2022
Senzo Meyiwa Trial | Cross-examination of Tumelo Madlala: Chriselda Lewis updates
Details of the post-mortem results on whether Meyiwa was shot by someone in front or behind him are also expected to come under the spotlight.
Adv Mshololo seemed to zone in on Tumelo Madlala’s vulnerability following #SenzoMeyiwa‘s murder, asking him about the people who offered him a place to sleep after the shooting incident.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial #SenzoMeyiwa pic.twitter.com/gTQUayC3XD
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) November 16, 2022
Kelly Khumalo’s lawyer, Magdalene Moonsamy on Monday brought an application for a Watching Brief and access to case dockets and court transcripts, but this was denied by the court, citing an earlier ruling on the matter in which the court had ruled that since there was a likelihood her client could be called in to testify Moonsamy could physically be in court or have access to court documents.
#KellyKhumalo‘s lawyer Magdalene Moonsamy has been excused from the #SenzoMeyiwatrial on the basis that her client might have to be called in to testify. She argued it made no difference since the proceedings are broadcast and would be public knowledge anyway. #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/Q3Xx5tCEBz
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) April 25, 2022
In June, Moonsamy told the media in Pretoria that her client wanted her day in court.
“There’s prejudice. There’s discrimination. As an attorney and an officer of a court, I’ve said previously that my client is not a suspect. There was a time Advocate Baloyi indicated to me that she may not even be called as a witness. Subsequently, a few weeks later, we were informed that she would be a witness and I thought that this would open a can of worms. The thing that we’ve been saying clearly and consistently is that, and this is what she said to me yesterday as well, that ‘I want my day in court’.”
The media is expected to be allowed back in court.
