The Mercury

Cop tells court he did not believe Senzo Meyiwa murder scene was tampered with

- GOITSEMANG TLHABYE goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za

SERGEANT Thabo Johannes Mosia has told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria he did not believe the crime scene where Senzo Meyiwa was shot had been tampered with.

Meyiwa, the late Bafana Bafana captain, was killed on the night of October 26, 2014, while visiting his girlfriend and the mother of his child, singer Kelly Khumalo.

Muzikawukh­ulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube,

Mthokozise­ni Maphisa and Sifokuhle Ntuli, are on trial for murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravatin­g circumstan­ces, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and possession of ammunition. All have pleaded not guilty.

Mosia was among the first few officers who attended the scene at Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus.

He told the court he’d been on standby on October 26 on behalf of the Springs Criminal Record and Crime Scene management division, covering 3 police stations in the vicinity.

He said he was informed of the incident around 11:45pm and arrived on the scene around 00:20 to find other members of the police there.

He said although he had been called to attend the scene where Meyiwa had been shot, he had not been given the address by the brigadier in charge and, as a result went to the Vosloorus police station, to obtain the address first.

During cross-examinatio­n by advocate Malesela Teffo – the defence for four of the accused – he was questioned about his time of arrival at the scene by police.

Mosia told the court he had been called in to conduct the forensic investigat­ion, and was informed by a Brigadier Ndlovu, who was the head of the Gauteng provincial detective office of what had transpired.

He said he was also informed by the officer who arrived before him that the incident took place just after 8pm, although police were called hours later.

When questioned about possible tampering with the scene given the police arrived four hours after the incident, Mosia said he did not believe there had been tampering due to some of the evidence found.

He said that had there been tampering he believed he wouldn't have been able to find items such as the fragmented bullet, as well as a hat and walking stick on the ground.

If anything, he said he believed the reason the victims delayed in contacting the police was a result of them being more focused on saving Meyiwa’s life by getting him to the nearest health facility.

The trial continues.

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