Senzo Meyiwa’s longtime friend has conceded that one of the five men standing trial for the soccer star’s murder was not present on the night Meyiwa was fatally shot.
Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
Tumelo Madlala on Wednesday returned to the witness stand in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for the resumption of his cross-examination by Advocate Zandile Mshololo.
Advocate Mshololo is the defence lawyer for accused number five, Sifisokuhle Ntuli.
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Advocate Mshololo asked Madlala whether Ntuli was among the alleged intruders who were present inside Kelly Khumalo’s family house in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, on the night Meyiwa was killed.
“Accused number five has never been to Kelly’s house on the date of the incident, do you agree with that?” Mshololo asked.
Madlala said in response: “Yes, I did not see him.”
Meyiwa was gunned down on 26 October 2014 in what has been described as a botched robbery at the family home of his then-lover, Khumalo.
Madlala was among the seven witnesses who were inside the property when the alleged intruders entered the house and allegedly demanded money and cell phones from the occupants.
Ntuli, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Muzikawukhulelwa Sthemba Sibiya, Mthobisi Prince Ncube and Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa are standing trial for Meyiwa’s murder and have pleaded not guilty.
Dock identification
In September, Madlala took part in dock identification wherein he pointed out Ntanzi as the man who Meyiwa got into a struggle with on the night he was killed.
He testified that the soccer player pinned Ntanzi against the Khumalo kitchen wall during the struggle.
This was despite the fact that Madlala admitted he was drinking alcohol on that fateful night and he could not identify any suspect during an identity parade in 2014.
Alcohol blood tests
During his cross-examination on Wednesday, Madlala also admitted that police did not take alcohol blood tests on the witnesses who were inside the Khumalo house to determine their blood alcohol levels.
He also confirmed that police did not take samples of gunshot residue from the occupants to determine if any one of them pulled the trigger that eventually led to Meyiwa’s death.
They did not hear the alleged intruders enter the house or make noise as they entered because the kitchen door was properly closed, Madlala added in his testimony.
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