Africa-Press – South-Africa. One of the men alleged to be involved in Senzo Meyiwa’s murder had saved a picture of a gun in his phone as “my killing machine”.
The evidence was presented on Tuesday at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria by the fifth state witness, Sergeant Moses Mabasa, a cellphone data analyst.
Bongani Ntanzi, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa’s murder.
They face charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.
Mabasa told the court he analysed data downloaded from Mncube’s phone, focusing on information downloaded from the SIM card, memory card and the device itself.
He said the firearm depicted under that caption was a 9mm pistol.
The picture is part of information downloaded from Mncube’s phone in 2015 following his arrest in an unrelated case.
Mabasa says he was roped into the case in 2020 after Mncube was linked to Meyiwa’s murder. The investigating officer, Brigadier Bongani Gininda, asked him to analyse the photos found in Mncube’s phone.
Mabasa showed the court the pictures he analysed and among them were photos of R100 and R200 notes, with some stacked in plastic wrapping; several firearms with ammunition; an axe and a panga; and several pictures of a man with dreadlocks.
The dreadlocks are a vital link in the case, as two previous state witnesses testified in court that one of the intruders alleged to be behind Meyiwa’s killing had dreadlocks.
In 2015, a neighbour of the Khumalo household in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, who had dreadlocks, was arrested but later released as he could not be linked to the crime.
Mncube’s lawyer, advocate Charles Mnisi, has confirmed in court that the man depicted in the pictures with dreadlocks was indeed his client in the dock.
The trial on Tuesday adjourned with Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng interjecting Mnisi’s line of cross-examining Mabasa.
This was after Mnisi asked Mabasa whether he was a hairdresser.
Mnisi had earlier asked Mabasa to describe the type of hairstyle the person depicted in the pictures was wearing and Mabasa said the person had dreadlocks.
Mokgoatlheng told Mnisi he was asking an unfair question and referred him to case law on the role of a presiding officer in court.
The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday with further cross-examination of Mabasa.
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