It has been almost exactly a decade since the unfortunate murder of promising Orlando Pirates goal-keeper Senzo Meyiwa, and justice is yet to be served for a crime that not only shattered a family but left the country in shock and uncertainty.
The Senzo Meyiwa case, which has been ongoing for numerous years, was postponed after retired cellphone analyst Colonel Lambertus Steyn took the stand. However, the defence counsel accused the state of presenting new evidence and the court then adjourned at the defence’s request.
South African singer and songwriter Kelly Khumalo’s name was brought up once again, as the evidence seems to involve her and her phone records. This is unsurprising because the singer was Senzo Meyiwa’s partner at the time he was murdered, and the crime took place in the singer’s home.
In his testimony Colonel Lambertus’ testimony it was revealed that evidence existed which points that there was communication between Kelly Khumalo and accused number five, whose name is Fisokuhle Ntuli. He claims to have acquired these records from a trusted programme that cannot be manipulated.
“Kelly rebooted her handset during the early morning hours after the incident, on 2014/10/27 which is why it did not have a complete memory of downloads of the phonebook. Everything on the device was cleaned and deleted… This happened at 01:31:38 am, a day after Meyiwa was killed. Kelly constantly called family and friends. Senzo’s friends, Kenny Kunene, Khanya, Precious, and her sister’s name is also on the list,” the advocate says.
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The defence then accused the prosecution of manufacturing evidence and went as far as threatening to lay criminal charges against them. “From where I’m standing, this constitutes new evidence which the court has ruled that it won’t be a part of this process,” says Advocate Charles Mnisi who is the legal representative for accused number three. He claimed that he would need to consult with his client before Colonel Lambertus took the stand.
“If these documents were already there when this witness came and gave his testimony initially, they should have been made available to us. For what he has come to explain today, should be also based on the documents that are already forming part of the court record. Now, we have got new information that the state wants to introduce through the backdoor. It has not been explained to us what is the purpose of these documents,” he pleads with the court.
