The Pretoria High Court has heard a startling statement that one of the five men accused with the murder of former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain, Senzo Meyiwa, was a known hit man and weapons supplier.
This emerged when the lead investigator and state witness in the Meyiwa’s case, Brigadier Bongani Gininda, read a statement from Simphiwe Buthelezi, where implicated Ntanzi in some of the assassinations in the country, selling of firearms and robbery.
Buthelezi, who passed away in 2022, was arrested by the police in KwaZulu-Natal on charges of selling firearms to hitmen and suspicion of carrying illegal ammunition, and later agreed to be a police informant.
In his statement, he mentions that he’s from the same area as Ntanzi, grew up together and they used to supply firearms across the country, which were mostly used in the assassinations of prominent people, mostly in the taxi industry.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng allowed for the statement to be read for the record, after Ntanzi’s legal counsel, Advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, objected to Gininda’s testimony that Ntanzi was implicated by a witness to Meyiwa’s murder and others.
“Bongani Ntanzi, he is a firearm and ammunition supplier. He is working together with Basotho nationals, they supply the hitmen with firearms and ammunition around the country. We supplied firearms to other people, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, as there was a high demand for unlicensed firearms and ammunition,” read the statement.
The statement also alleged that Ntanzi took part in some of the robberies in Gauteng, supplied or rented illegal firearms, which were mostly used in the taxi violence.
Buthelezi also wrote that when visiting Ntanzi in Phokeng, outside Rustenburg in the North West, he overheard him on the phone talking to accused 4, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, about the killing of a union leader in Marikana.
“I heard that the person that was killed is a big person and very powerful. And I asked him if he had also started killing people, and he said to me, “it is a man’s job that he had to do” because he needs money to make a better living,” noted the statement.
“The statement also detailed that Ntanzi used to brag about bribing the police, prosecutor, and magistrates, to drop some of the charges he was facing. This allegedly included bribing the police to drop the Meyiwa charges. I also heard that Bongani Ntanzi, Maphisa, Carlos, Nkani, Ntuli are involved in the murder of Senzo Meyiwa. I was very angry at them because they had killed a very important person who was a national goalkeeper of our football club,” added the statement.
Mngomezulu is however adamant that the statement does not implicate his client, and that what Buthelezi mentions are some of the things he overheard. The cross examination of Gininda is expected to continue on Wednesday.
