Senzo Meyiwa’s family are the real victims

The second docket in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has brought more questions than answers to what exactly happened on the day the soccer star was gunned down.

That docket was opened on 22 January, 2019, by two police officers who were part of the initial investigating team because they were apparently frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation. They probably believed the people who were in the house when the incident happened were not truthful when they said the attackers entered the house.

The docket also suggests that the first state witness, Sergeant Thabo Mosia, contradicted what he said, according to the first docket.

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A wrong suspect was pointed out during the identification parade by those who were in the house after Meyiwa’s death. That leaves a lot of questions. Why have the people who were in the house at the time of the murder not been arrested? Who identified the five men who are currently standing trial in the High Court in Johannesburg? Was this not just a “let’s get this over and done with” situation? Was there ever an identity parade to identify the men facing the music? Some of the people who were in the house will reportedly come and testify in the current trial as state witnesses.

But in the second docket, they are named as the suspects. How does one testify as a state witness if one is an alleged perpetrator? The director of public prosecutions in Pretoria has indicated that the decision about the second docket will be taken after the conclusion of the current trial.

That is purely because credibility findings that might have been made by the trial court against the witnesses who were in the house at the time of the incident will have to be taken into account.

How will this help? Would it not be in the interest of justice that both dockets are discarded and police reinvestigate this matter? What will happen if, indeed, the men who are in the dock are acquitted of the charges they face? Will the NPA then decide to charge those who were in the house? Or how will this work?

The case has been a shambles. At one point, advocate Malesela Teffo accused Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela of witchcraft, to which he replied by saying: “I have a physician called Jesus and he needs no augmentation. Even before I came here, I consulted with my physician. When I leave here, I will consult my physician.”

Teffo has been ridiculed for his comments as he cannot prove that the judge is using witchcraft against him. But can anyone really prove witchcraft in a court of law?

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The reality is, in the African culture, witchcraft is practiced but it can never be proven – either by a court of law or diagnosed by a medical doctor. That does not it mean it doesn’t exist.

So, should those allegations against the judge just be laughed at because it’s “crazy” advocate Teffo? Why has the judge also not been criticised for having a “physician, called Jesus”? Surely the judge also cannot prove that He exists?

But in between all the drama and shenanigans playing out in the high court, my heart can only bleed for the real victims… In the middle of all this, is Senzo Meyiwa’s family who continue to suffer because they have not gotten any justice…