Senzo Meyiwa murder accused ‘in sound mind’

GAUTENG High Court, Pretoria, Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng has ruled that the confessions made by two of the five men accused of the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa were valid and made admissible in the high-stakes trial.

For months now, the court has been holding a trial-within-a-trial after the accused disputed the confessions they made after being arrested.

Bongani Ntanzi and Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, through their legal teams, vehemently argued that their earlier confessions were a result of coercion by members of the police.

“Consequently, after going through all that evidence carefully, this court has reached the following conclusion: it rules that the confession made by accused number one (Sibiya) was made freely and voluntarily, without any coercion,” Judge Mokgoatlheng ruled.

“It was made when accused was in his firm, sound and sober senses.

“The confession made by accused number two (Ntanzi) in respect of the said confession taken by Ms Cronje the magistrate, the court rules that it was made freely and voluntarily without any coercion, when accused two was in his full and sober senses.

“And also, the pointing outs made by accused number one before Colonel Hadebe were also made freely and voluntarily, without any coercion when accused two was in his full and sober senses. That is the ruling.”

Ntanzi and Sibiya told the court they were severely assaulted by police and were forced to sign confession statements implicating themselves and others in the murder. They told the court they were tubed and beaten to make the confession, claiming the confessions were made under duress.

Speaking to Independent Media on Wednesday, legal commentator and defence attorney Nthabiseng Dubazana, from Dubazana Attorneys, said if the admissions were ruled admissible, they would form part of the record.

“What it means is that the court will consider the confessions when making a judgment and indicate that the confessions were done properly and the evidence is relevant,” Dubazana said. “Not only that, the judge will compare what the accused said in court versus what is contained in the confessions. This can essentially be used against them.”

This would effectively put the State, as led by advocate George Baloyi, in a prime position to secure murder convictions against the accused.

Another legal practitioner, Lwando Mufune of Ueitele and Hans Inc, said the ruling by Judge Mokgoatlheng, though important, was not necessarily a make or break for the State.

“If the State has overwhelming evidence and can still prove that the accused committed the murder, they are still in a good position to win the case,” said Mufune.

Meyiwa was killed on October 26, 2014, visiting singer Kelly Khumalo.