Senzo Meyiwa Trial: Accused Challenges State’s Identification Evidence
Accused Challenges State’s Identification Evidence in Senzo Meyiwa Trial
The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial heard tense evidence on Monday as the defence challenged the state’s version linking one of the accused to the gunman who allegedly entered the Khumalo home on the night the football star was killed.
The court was taken through witness statements describing the intruders who entered the house on 26 October 2014. The defence focused on whether those descriptions matched the accused, who disputed that he was the person identified by Brigadier Bongani Gininda.
According to the statement of Zandile Lorraine Khumalo, one of the people inside the house, the first suspect was described as an African male of average height, with dreadlocks, dark complexion, a thin body and big eyes. He was allegedly wearing a brown or beige jacket and had a firearm in his hand.
The accused rejected the description, telling the court that it did not match him because he is light in complexion.
He also disputed the suggestion that the clothing seen in photographs downloaded from his phone could be linked to the clothing described by witnesses. He told the court that many people wear khaki clothing and that the clothing alone could not identify him as one of the intruders.
The defence also referred to another statement by Zandile Khumalo, in which she described the first suspect as dark in complexion, with dreadlocks, a shiny skin, facial contours, a round face and big eyes. She also said the second suspect was taller, skinny and lighter in complexion than the first.
The accused again rejected the description, saying the person described by the witness was not him.
The court further heard that Zandile Khumalo had stated that she did not see a gold tooth in any of the suspects’ mouths. This was raised against Gininda’s evidence that witnesses had allegedly linked a gold tooth to the suspect.
The defence also referred to evidence around a small hat allegedly worn by one of the intruders and later found in the kitchen. The accused said DNA evidence had excluded him from being linked to that hat.
Another witness statement, attributed to Longwe Twala, was also put before the court. Twala allegedly described the person with dreadlocks as short and dark in complexion, wearing a khaki jacket and carrying a firearm.
The accused maintained that the descriptions by witnesses who were inside the house referred to someone else and not to him.
The matter was adjourned after the defence indicated that it intended to start a new topic when proceedings resume.
