The state in the case of five men accused with the murder of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa, has today wrapped its case after three years of leading evidence at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The trial, which began in 2022, has faced several delays, postponements, a trial-within-a-trial, death, and criticism regarding its cost to the state.
The former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was gunned down while visiting his then girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo in 2014 in Vosloorus.
Muzi Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli, were arrested years later for Meyiwa’s murder.
During his closing deliberations, state prosecutor Advocate George Baloyi submitted several exhibits which the state has presented since the commencement of the trial.
These include affidavits, statements, pictures, videos, bank accounts statements, cellphone and medical records of the accused.
“That concludes the leading of the evidence for the state, and we close the state case.
It’s precisely three years since the state started leading evidence, and the state now formally closes its case.
Now it is the turn of the defence to present their case,” said Baloyi.
The defence, however, objected to some of the exhibits presented by Baloyi, arguing that some of them were never tested in court.
Baloyi highlighted that with the closure of the state case, the defence is at liberty to subpoena any witnesses to testify in its favour.
The defence raised concerns that they were not furnished with all the movement of the vehicles that were used during the arrest of some of the suspects, video footage of where they were kept in custody, and police records of their arrests.
The defence counsel for accused one and three, Advocate Charles Mnisi, didn’t rule out subpoenaing all the witnesses that the state elected not to use during the trial, and implored the state to help in this regard.
The defence however requested an adjournment until 8th August 2025, pending a financial application to the Legal Aid Board regarding their next move.
“We received an instruction from our clients, to bring an application in terms of section 174, which we have communicated to the financier of the trial, Legal Aid Board of South Africa.
They (Legal Aid) then requested an indulgence for the matter to stand down for a week or two, while they worked on their request.
The Legal Aid Board committee that is going to consider the application for section 174, will only meet on the 6th, thus we request for the trial to be provisionally postponed to 8th August,” explained Mnisi.
