Senzo Meyiwa murder TRIAL: Trial judge finds audio recording of ‘confession’ inadmissible
One of the defendants accused of killing Senzo Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana captain, Bongani Ntanzi, had his recorded admission of guilt ruled as inadmissible in court by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng. The defense team successfully argued that recording Ntanzi’s confession without him knowing constituted a violation of his rights.
The five defendants stand accused of Meyiwa’s murder, which took place during his visit to his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus in October 2014.
On Friday, during a subsidiary trial, Judge Mokgoatlheng passed judgment on the prosecution’s request to allow Ntanzi’s recorded confession into evidence.
Currently, the court is considering the admissibility of alleged confession statements by Ntanzi and another defendant, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya.
Despite the state’s initial unwillingness to submit the pro forma part of the recording, the prosecutor, Advocate George Baloyi, argued that the recording as a whole holds elements crucial to determining if the statement was made willingly.
The defense counter-argued that Ntanzi’s rights have been infringed because he wasn’t informed nor consented to the recording, which may potentially compromise the overall trial’s fairness.
Despite Baloyi arguing that Ntanzi’s rights weren’t violated as per the terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, Judge Mokgoatlheng found that Ntanzi was not given a chance to consent, thereby causing an infringement.
With this ruling, Mokgoatlheng dismissed the prosecution’s plea to consider the recording as admissible. Though this represents a minor victory for Ntanzi, the court still needs to make a decision regarding the legitimacy of the supposed confession statement itself.
Additionally, the ruling regarding the audio does not affect the secondary trial’s remaining proceedings.
Despite Ntanzi claiming the confession was done under duress and wasn’t signed willingly, Cronje told the court that Ntanzi seemed relaxed during his confession with no evidence of recent injuries or pressure to confess.
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