The prosecution in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial says is ready to begin with the trial within a trial, which will deal with the admissibility of the confessions by accused 1 and 2. The state says they are in possession of confessions and “pointings-out” from accused 1 and 2, which the defense contends were made under duress and should not be admitted as evidence in court.
Baloyi: The state is now ready to make available some of the statements made by the accused persons and the state is possessions of the confessions.
The state is also in possession of two confessions made by accused 2.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) October 11, 2023
The pointings-out of crime scenes happen when suspects are taken to an alleged crime scene to inform the police about what had happened.
In respect of accused 3 to 5, the state says they are in possession of warning statements.
The defense has challenged the admissibility of these confessions, pointings-out and warning statements.
“The state is now ready to make available some of the statements made by the accused persons and the state is in possession of the confessions. The state is also in possession of two confessions made by accused 2. The statement also intends to lead evidence on the warning statements in respect of the accused. I have been informed that their admissibility is challenged by the defence and that includes the pointings out. As far as their warning statement, I am not yet aware of the defense’s position. We will request a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of those statements,” says state prosecutor, Advocate George Baloyi.
Sipho Ramosepele for accused 1 and 2, Muzi Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi, his clients were assaulted and never made those confessions of their own volition.
Initially, Ramosepele told the court that his clients had never made any statements or confessions, but then made a u-turn.
Judge: You must be clear as to whether you are saying your client never made a statement or made a statement but it was not voluntary.
Ramosepele: My client says a statement was brought to him and he was beaten to accept that statements.
Judge: So you are saying he never voluntarily made a statement?
Ramosepele: Yes, my lord.
Earlier, the court heard that Bongani Ntanzi, who previously told the court through his legal counsel that on the day Meyiwa was killed he was in KwaZulu-Natal paying lobola and had bank transactions to prove it, never made any transactions on his account between the 25th and the 28th of November.
Ramosepele says according to his client the statements do not reflect all the transactions, saying there is a loan deposit that is not appearing on the statement.
“If it’s not appearing it means it never happened or it happened under a different account number,” says Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng.
Ramosepele says his client only had one account number.
Judge to Ramosepele: You have a right to challenge this statement, but you cannot stop the state from leading this evidence. You have a right to subpoena.
The state submits there were transactions from the 25th to the 28 of October.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) October 11, 2023
The defense seemed not to be pulling in one direction when Ramosepele suggested he needed time to consult with his clients for the commencement of the trial within a trial.
Ramosepele said he needed a day to consult, which his fellow defense counsels said they didn’t need any time, with Adv Zandile Mshololo saying she was surprised there was such a request for a postponement.
Judge Mokgoatlheng was not impressed with the delays, reiterating the Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba was not happy with the postponement.
Adv Mshololo says they were never informed about the request for the postponement.
She says she is surprised.
The judge says everyone knew that the state would commence with issues of the trial within a trial. #SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) October 11, 2023
“This case … this happened in October 2014. If you are going to tell me that you have a case that you need to deal with, it must be a case that started in 1902. You cannot tell me you are not available for a case that started eight years after this one.”
Judge: Ok, let’s adjourn until Friday. Where are you other witnesses.
Baloyi: They are available.
Ramosepele: There were no witnesses for today. We were never told.
Baloyi: We can speak for ourselves. We handle witnesses. They are a call away.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) October 11, 2023
The matter has been postponed to Friday.
Senzo Meyiwa murder trial | Accused 2 Bongani Ntanzi’s bank statements to come into sharp focus
