The pendulum of evidence seems to momentarily oscillate in favour of defence counsels for five men accused of gunning down Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates skipper Senzo Meyiwa.
So far, the testimony of the first State witness, Thabo Mosia, has been characterised by contradictions relating to the procedure he had followed when securing the crime scene, where the iconic goalkeeper was shot and killed.
Mosia was grilled for the last time during the trial on Wednesday at the Pretoria High Court by Advocate Zandile Mshololo, the legal representative for accused number five, Sifiso Ntuli, regarding discrepancies contained in a statement he wrote for parallel investigations into the same case when he was requested by senior police investigator Joyce Buthelezi.
Mshololo wanted Mosia to clarify the validity of his own claims, which appeared in his statement for Buthelezi, that he was delayed in attending to the crime scene because of not having obtained the address and consequently arrived several hours after the incident took place.
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However, according to evidence in the second docket, which was opened nearly five years after Meyiwa’s killing, the now deceased head of detectives, Philani Ndlovu, said in a statement under oath that he had given Mosia the address because he was the one who alerted him about the incident.
But, Mosia denied in court that he was furnished with the address and stuck to his earlier version that he got the address from police officers at Botshelong Hospital, where Meyiwa’s body was taken.
Mshololo’s cross-examination led the court to establish that even though Mosia relied on a crime scene report, which he said was authorised by Ndlovu, it contradicted his previous statement that Ndlovu had signed it.
Mshololo said:
State advocate George Baloyi re-examined Mosia based on clarifying certain aspects, which became prevalent during cross-examination by defence counsels.
The representative for accused number one to four, Timothy Thobane, on two occasions, objected to the State’s line of questioning, citing that Baloyi was repeating evidence that was within the record, but the objection was overruled by Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela.
Baloyi confirmed with Mosia that the police officers who led him to the incident were travelling with the marked vehicle.
Mosia:
He also confirmed to the court that he left a vehicle outside the crime scene after completing his work. This was in response to the allegation that the people inside the house were taken to a house in Mulbarton, Johannesburg.
The trial continues on Thursday and the State is expected to go through statements of other witnesses to be called to the dock.