The defense will lead evidence that will demonstrate that late Brigadier Philani Ndlovu planted the projectile that was found on the kitchen unit of Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus. This came out during Forensic Expert Thabo Mosia’s cross-examination by counsel for accused number 5, Advocate Zandile Mshololo, at the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial in Pretoria.
Meyiwa was shot dead on the evening of 26 October eight years ago when two intruders allegedly stormed into Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s house in Vosloorus and demanded cell phones before a scuffle allegedly ensued leading to the murder of the former Bafana Bafana goalminder.
The defense has rejected this version of events slowly painting a picture of a cover-up involving the police who attended the scene.
“We will lead evidence to show that, that projectile was not there at night and was planted by Ndlovu,” says Mshololo.
Under cross-examination, Mosia has admitted that when he was at the crime scene after midnight on 27 October 2014, four hours after the shooting, he had not noticed any projectile on the kitchen unit. This despite the fact that he had gone around the house taking pictures under the guidance of Ndlovu, who was pointing out important spots and explaining what had happened during the commission of the crime. This despite Ndlovu not having been present when the crime took place.
Mshololo: “And you are not in a position to tell this court the condition of this picture the night you were there because you did not take notice.”
Mosia: “That’s correct.”#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial pic.twitter.com/jOjcbCKEzi
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) June 1, 2022
Mosia says he might have missed the projectile on the kitchen unit because he didn’t investigate that area and also because he had called for assistance in the crime scene because the scene was “a little difficult.”
He says only the following morning when he returned to the house for further investigation did he notice the projectile.
He had handed the crime scene back to Ndlovu before he left in the early hours of the morning. Ndlovu had also handled the scene before Mosia’s arrival.
Moshololo: “Is it the same Brigadier Ndlovu who had failed to provide you with the address that you handed the scene of the crime back to?”
Mosia at first would not comment but acceded to the question after the judge’s intervention. #SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial #SenzoMeyiwa pic.twitter.com/jzlgciXDWK
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) June 1, 2022
It was Ndlovu who had called Mosia to alert him of a shooting that had taken place at a house in Vosloorus during which the Orlando Pirates star was shot dead, even though Mosia has testified in court that Ndlovu had not given him the address to the house, further delaying his arrival at the house.
Ndlovu, who was expected to take the stand at some point, has since passed on.
Issues of crime scene contamination made their way back into the cross-examination when Mosia admitted in court that he did not take the swabs from door handles during his first visit to the house. He has admitted that having left family members to sleep in the house and only taking the swabs the following morning was a possibility that they could have touched the door handles.
Highlights of the day’s proceedings: Chriselda Lewis:
On Tuesday, counsel for accused number 1 to 4, sought to paint a picture of a cover-up when he argued that the five accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial were mere scapegoats and the suspects should be the seven people who were at Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus on the night the soccer star was murdered in October 2014.
According to the docket, Longwe Twala, Kelly Khumalo, Gladness Khumalo, Zandi Khumalo, Tumelo Madlala, Mthokozisi Twala, and Maggie Phiri are listed as suspects.
Longwe Twala, listed in it as accused number 1, is suspected to have pulled the trigger while Khumalo it reveals should be charged with defeating the ends of justice for “hatching a plan to say they were robbed by unknown gunmen,” while Phiri is accused as having “cleaned the crime scene before the police could arrive.”
It is understood the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) has not moved to charge anyone based on the second docket, and only moved to prosecute on the basis of the first docket with the version that gunmen had entered the house, demanded cell phones, and shot Meyiwa following a scuffle.
Advocate Mshololo says the defense will call upon a witness that will testify that Phiri, one of the possible suspects in the second docket, was seen cleaning alcohol from the crime scene.
Mosia says he never noticed anything like that when he was at the house.
Adv. Mshololo is taking Mosia on his earlier statement that when he arrived, he ordered everyone out of the house – in contradiction to his earlier statement that when he arrived, he had put everyone who was in the house inside one of the bedrooms. #SenzoMeyiwatrial #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/r2d7K1uEL9
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) June 1, 2022
The trial has adjourned for the day and will continue Thursday morning at 11h30.
