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Senzo Meyiwa murder crime scene tampering expected to come under the spotlight

  • Sergeant Thabo Mosia testifying during the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.
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  • SABC-News-ThaboMosia-SiphoKekana
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Issues of crime scene tampering following the murder of Senzo Meyiwa are expected to come under the spotlight at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

The first witness in the matter, Sergeant Thabo Mosia, is currently giving evidence on, among others, the hat he found on the scene, the bullet hole on the kitchen door, the bullet jacket he found in the kitchen as well as the swabs he collected on the scene.

Mosia has told the court that they found the projectile (front part of the bullet) on top of the kitchen unit behind the glass jar, indicating that it had changed direction after hitting the kitchen door.

According to the evidence expected to be led by the state, Meyiwa died as a result of a contact shot that went through his chest and exited at his back, hitting the back of the kitchen door which the former goalminder is believed to have been standing against. 

“A forensic pathologist will prove the death of the deceased is consistent with contact bullet entrance wound, involving the heart and lung. (He will also testify that) the wound at the back is consistent with a bullet exit wound with a downward trajectory,” says Baloyi. 

“But more importantly, we will seek to prove through the ballistic expert that the spent bullet found near the kitchen door matched the firearm that was found in possession of accused No. 3 in a room he occupied with his girlfriend in Malvern.” 

Asked by Judge Tshishiwa Maumela to comment on whether there was a chance of crime scene tampering, Mosia said he would comment on the matter later during his testimony.

Earlier, Kelly Khumalo’s lawyer, Magdalene Moonsamy, was asked to leave the court on the basis that her client could be asked to testify in the trial at a later stage. 

While Khumalo has not been charged and is not one of the five accused, she was one of the seven people in the house on the night of the former Orlando Pirates keeper’s murder at her home in Vosloorus. 

Last week, counsel for accused No.: 1 to 4 had asked the court to terminate Moonsamy’s watch brief, arguing it gave Khumalo an advantage since Moonsamy would have to go back to her client to give her feedback on court proceedings. At the time, Judge Tshishiwa Maumela dismissed the application.  

However, this position changed on Monday when all counsels were called to the chambers to deliberate on Moonsamy’s presence in court. 

She argued that it made no difference whether she was in court since the court proceeding were broadcast live, making them “public knowledge anyway”. However, Judge Maumela was quick to point that the live broadcast could not be equated to watch brief which meant she would have access to exclusive court papers. 

Moonsamy last week told SABC News that her presence in court didn’t imply an expectation on their side that Khumalo would at some stage be charged. 

“There is absolutely no way that there is the minimum doubt. That narrative (that Khumalo may be charged) must be removed from society, because the reality is that there are five accused that are sitting in this dock. So, let us focus on the accused, and whether the plea that they have submitted is indeed one that is correct – that is what we need to focus on,” says Moonsamy. 

Moonsamy would not be drawn into saying whether they will institute lawsuits against those who might have been involved in reputational damage by allegations of Khumalo being involved in the murder of Meyiwa, which has been a hot topic of public opinion since the incident eight years ago. 

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