As the highly publicised Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumed on Monday at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, the defence expressed mounting frustration over the absence of crucial vehicle tracking data, which they believe is critical to their case.
The defence team, representing accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, and accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, has been persistently seeking automatic vehicle locator (AVL) data linked to the arrests of the two men back in 2020. Both Sibiya and Ntanzi have alleged that they were assaulted and coerced into confessing their involvement in the murder while in police custody, claiming they were transported between various vehicles during the proceedings.
Senzo Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, was tragically shot and killed on 26 October 2014 at the family home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo. The circumstances surrounding his death have remained a contentious issue in South Africa, and the trial has drawn national attention.
During the court proceedings, prosecutor George Baloyi revealed that the state had received an affidavit from an official at the City of Ekurhuleni, confirming that it was unable to recover the AVL data pertaining to the vehicles involved in the arrests. These vehicles—a white Audi A3, a white BMW 125i, a white Nissan NP300, and a white Isuzu double cab—were assigned to a SWAT team of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department during the critical months of May, June, and July 2020. Regrettably, no vehicle movement data could be retrieved for this period.
Baloyi explained, “He [the Ekurhuleni official] states that he conducted a thorough search within the city’s fleet tracking system; however, the current tracking system was only implemented after 2020. Furthermore, there is no historical AVL data that was migrated from the previous tracking platform into the current system.” This data gap was attributed to a “supplier lock-in” stemming from a contractual dispute between the Ekurhuleni Municipality and a prior service provider.
The missing data swath extends further, affecting the vehicle driven by the now-deceased Sergeant Steven Mabena, whose log sheet records were also unavailable. This raises significant concerns, as legal advocates are tasked with piecing together events leading up to Meyiwa’s death without essential evidence.
Advocate Charles Mnisi, representing Sibiya, did not hold back in his criticism of the state’s inability to furnish the AVL data, deeming it indispensable for a fair trial. “It is just not enough for somebody to pen an affidavit and say I am unable to get the information here, and, therefore, the story must end. No, it does not work like that,” he argued, insisting that these records were central to securing a just decision.
Mnisi further challenged the reliability of log books as evidence, advocating that investigators must delve deeper rather than accept simple explanations for missing data. “We are not looking for log books because there is a propensity for information being falsified in log books,” he asserted.
The saga continued as Mnisi sought to summon those who provided affidavits to appear in court, underscoring the inadequacies of how the investigation was being conducted. “The people who penned these affidavits should either come to court here to give their explanation, be cross-examined or be assisted on how to conduct this investigation rather than simply accept it on the face of it,” he demanded, unveiling the deepening concerns surrounding the trial.
As the proceedings continue, the fate of Meyiwa’s case remains uncertain.