The late Senzo Meyiwa. Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it has not made a U-turn in the Senzo Meyiwa trial in considering prosecution of the accused in the second docket.
The NPA released a statement on Wednesday to clarify misconceptions regarding the transfer of this docket – Vosloorus Cas 375/1/2019 – from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The second docket listed the witnesses who were in the house when the Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana soccer star was killed.
The NPA has indicated that the decision in this docket will be taken after the conclusion of the current trial, as credibility findings made by the trial court against the witnesses will have to be taken into account.
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NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) transferred the main docket regarding the Meyiwa murder case – Vosloorus (CAS 636/10/2014) – from the jurisdiction of the DPP Johannesburg to that of Pretoria on 9 February 2020.
“She has now also transferred the second docket, Vosloorus (CAS 375/1/2019), which is related to the first docket, on 22 August 2022.“
Mahanjana said counsel in the case had enquired about the decision in the second docket.
“It has been incorrectly reported by some media houses that the National Prosecuting Authority has made an about-turn regarding the second docket, Vosloorus Cas 375/1/2019, when it announced that the decision in that docket will be taken by the DPP Pretoria, after finalisation of the current trial reading the main docket,” Mahanjana said.
Mahanjana added that the second docket was opened on 22 January 2019 by two police officers who were part of the initial investigating team, when there was an impasse in the investigation.
“Those police officers were apparently frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation and probably thought that the six witnesses who were in the house when the incident happened were not truthful when they mentioned that the attackers intruded in the house,” Mahanjana said.
“They apparently thought that the witnesses were concealing the truth about the true identity of the killer of Mr Senzo Meyiwa as such killer(s) could not be identified or found. A wrong suspect was also pointed out during an identification parade.”
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Mahanjana said a breakthrough came in May 2020 when the current accused were identified.
“So, the initial suspicion that the two police officers had, were superceded by the identification of the suspects in this case in May 2020 and their subsequent arrest. The NPA adopted a prosecutorial strategy that a decision be made after all evidence is led during trial and findings thereon, which will inform an assessment of what will transpire.”
Meyiwa was gunned down at the home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, in October 2014.
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