Africa-Press – South-Africa. My mind froze as I tried to call 10111.”
These were the words of Zandile Khumalo, who relayed to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday about Sezo Meyiwa’s last moments after he was shot during a robbery at her mother’s house in Vosloorus in October 2014.
Khumalo was the first state witness in the trial of the five men accused of murdering Meyiwa.
The trial got under way last year but had to start afresh on Monday after President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela for failing to deliver numerous reserved judgments within reasonable time frames.
Maumela also fell ill and it became apparent that he would not be able to continue with the matter.
Everything that had happened in the original trial was nullified, and Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng was roped in to handle the trial.
Khumalo was one of the six people in the house where the Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was shot.
The other people were her sister, Kelly Khumalo, who was Meyiwa’s girlfriend and mother of his child; their mother, Ntombi; Zandile’s boyfriend, Longwe Twala; Meyiwa’s two friends, Tumelo Madlala and Mthokozisi Thwala.
The five men alleged to have killed Meyiwa – Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli – are standing trial for premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
During her testimony, an emotional Zandile relayed to the court the events leading to the shooting and Meyiwa’s last moments, including the rush to get help after he was shot.
“When I came out of the bathroom, I saw Senzo was bleeding. I remembered that I hid my phone behind the cushion. I found my phone still there, I tried to dial 10111, but my mind just froze,” she told the court.
Zandile said she then ran to the house of her mother’s friend, Ma’Phiri, where she told her daughter what happened.
“She started panicking and asked her daughter, Nthabiseng, to make a call.
She said:
“When I got back to the house, I saw Mthokozisi [who is said to have been in the house when the shooting occurred], Khaya and Bulelelani [neighbours’ children] trying to put Senzo into the car.”
Before the trial got under way, the prosecutor, advocate George Baloyi, read the charges against the five men.
Mokgoatlheng then asked them if they understood the charges and the competent verdicts – which have to do with being found guilty of a lesser charge if the evidence led in court doesn’t point to the charge put by the state.
Making an example, Mokgoatlheng pointed out that in the charge of murder, if the evidence presented in court is not sufficient, he might still find them guilty of culpable homicide or found guilty of theft in a robbery charge.
Sibiya responded by saying his lawyer never explained that to him.
Mokgoatlheng then gave a short adjournment to allow the lawyers to thoroughly explain the state’s charges to their clients, including the issue of competent verdicts.
Baloyi also told the court that formal admissions had been agreed.
Those admissions, which are not in dispute, include that the deceased person is Meyiwa, the address where the incident took place, the name of the doctor who certified Meyiwa dead, the accuracy of the photo album depicting the scene, and photos taken during the postmortem.
Baloyi said what was in dispute between the state and defence was the identity of the person who shot Meyiwa. He said the state would call witnesses who were in the house when Meyiwa was shot, as well as neighbours.
He said the photographers who took photos at the scene would also be called and said the state also had ballistic evidence.
He said forensic officials and police officers who attended the scene would also be called.
“The state will also lead evidence of cellphone analysts who will map out data of cellphones of all the role players,” Baloyi told the court.
He also said there would be a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of certain statements made by the accused.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
