Senzo Meyiwa trial: Police witness ‘shooting blanks’ with firearm testimony?

The high-profile murder trial of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa continued on Monday at the North Gauteng Court, in Pretoria, with the grilling of police witness Sergeant Mandla Masondo.

Masondo, who is part of the Gauteng organised crime unit dealing with taxi violence, testified about seizing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition from accused number three, Mthobisi Mncube, in February 2015.

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Taxi boss killing

Recently two digital forensic data experts gave evidence of finding photos of multiple guns, including one titled “my killing machine”, on Mncube’s cellphone.

On Monday morning, Masondo pointed Mncube out in court as the suspect whom he was investigating for the murder of a taxi boss in Alexandra.

Mncube was arrested in 2015 for the killing and was serving a 30-year jail term at the time of his arrest in connection with the Meyiwa case. 

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Fatal night in Vosloorus for Senzo Meyiwa

The former Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was fatally shot in the chest during an alleged botched robbery at the home of his then-girlfriend and singer Kelly Khumalo’s mother, Ntombi, in Vosloorus on 26 October 2014.

Khumalo’s sister, Zandile, Zandile’s then-boyfriend Longwe Twala and two of Meyiwa’s friends – Mthokozisi Thwala and Tumelo Madlala – who were visiting from KwaZulu-Natal, were present when two intruders allegedly entered the house.

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Firearm, ammunition found in accused’s room

Masondo told the court that during his unit’s investigation of the Alexandra killing, he traced Mncube to Cleveland.

On 9 February 2015, he and two of his colleagues found a black 9mm “Czech Republic pistol” on a wardrobe in the room Mncube was sharing with his girlfriend. The serial number of the pistol was filed off.

Masondo testified under cross-examination by defence lawyer  Advocate Charles Mnisi, that the magazine was fully loaded with 15 rounds of live ammunition with one round in the chamber.

The officers also found a small blue box with another 12 rounds of ammunition.

“The rounds that were in the box were different in calibres. Some were 9mm long and 9mm short, some I can’t remember,” he told the court.

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Masondo said Mncube could not produce the license for the firearm which he said he got from his “homeland of KwaZulu-Natal”.

“That is when we informed him that we are going to charge him with the unlawful possession of firearm.”

At Cleveland police station, Masondo said Mncube’s Samsung GTE 2220 cellphone was also confiscated and booked in for downloading.

He said the reason for the cellphone download request was to place Mncube at the crime scene of the Alexandra case and to trace an alleged accomplice.

No conclusive evidence to Meyiwa shooting

The under-fire police witness admitted there was no conclusive evidence linking the firearm to the October 2014 murder of Meyiwa.

• Neither the pistol nor the rounds of ammunition were tested for fingerprints.
• The firearm was found three months after Meyiwa’s murder and despite the fact that the exhibits taken at the Vosloorus house should have been available by then, the records were not requested by Masondo for further investigation.

Such was the outcome of the cross-examination that Mnisi requested Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng to scrap any evidence regarding the firearm. To which the judge simply replied: “This court does not expunge any evidence.”

Five accused plead not guilty

The five accused – Bongani Ntanzi, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Ntuli, – have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.

Judge blasts police

On Friday, Mokgoatlheng came out guns blazing, criticising the conduct of the police in gathering information from the murder scene.

The judge, who has been hailed for his no-nonsense approach since the reboot of the much-delayed trial on 17 July, lashed out at the South African Police Service (Saps) during the cross-examination of Meyiwa’s childhood friend Tumelo Madlala.

Mokgoatlheng asked Madlala on Friday whether police had conducted any gunshot residue tests on him or any of the occupants of the house on the night Meyiwa was shot.

Madlala said he could not remember such a test being done.

“The other thing is that competent police should have taken all of your clothes. I am surprised because this firearm exploded in a confined space, therefore, common sense tells you that they should have taken all the clothes of all the people who were there and conducted the same tests on them,” the judge said.

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