Zandie Khumalo, finally unveiled as the mystery celebrity witness in the Senzo Meyiwa trial, dragged her feet to the stand for the first day of what’s expected to be a gruelling testimony.
Zandie Khumalo testimony: Here’s her version of Senzo Meyiwa murder
Kelly Khumalo‘s sister surrendered her bid to remove the media from recording her testimony, albeit Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela threw her a bone and limited the coverage to audio-only.
The state kicked off its record of Khumalo’s testimony with her version of events on that fateful day Meyiwa was gunned down inside her mother’s Vosloorus home in October 2014.
For the most part, Zandie’s recollection of events corroborated information regurgitated by the media over the years, as well as the Senzo Meyiwa Netflix documentary.
How that fateful day went, according to Zandie Khumalo
Meyiwa was with his friend Mthokozisi Thwala in Vosloorus on Sunday, 26 October 2014 and planned to attend former Orlando Pirates defender Rooi Mahamutsa’s day party, with his other mate, Tumelo Madlala visiting from out of town.
According to Zandie, she and Kelly were booked for a performance in Soweto on the same day and the plan agreed on between the sisters, Meyiwa and Thwala, was to regroup at Mahamutsa’s event after the show.
Except, a spanner was thrown in the day’s plans when the Khumalos, Meyiwa and Thwala arrived at the party too early.
Khumalo recalled that Meyiwa and Thwala decided to tag along to the sisters’ Soweto gig, which concluded between 14:00 and 15:00. Thereafter, the crew made a pitstop at a teammate’s mother’s house to drop off an undisclosed amount of money, then to Katlehong for Thwala to change, and before they headed home for lunch at the Khumalos, Madlala was picked up along the N3 Spruitview off-ramp.
Here’s part of the testimony the defence will likely target
In what may be a crucial point of further exploration for the defence, Zandie revealed that she used her cash sum of R400 — Meyiwa and Khumalo only carried cards in their wallets and electronic payments were not available at taverns in the area — to buy Heineken beers and Smirnoff Guarana ciders.
Zandie recalled that the crew drove to the tavern and it was she and Thwala who went inside the informal liquor den to purchase the goods.
It was around 17:00 and relatively sunny when the group returned home. According to Zandie, her mother, Ntombi, dished out and served the guests in the dining room, where the boys were enjoying a late Sunday afternoon watching a Premier League fixture.
The Khumalo sister testified that Meyiwa would leave the house once again after Longwe Twala confirmed to her then-girlfriend, Zandie, telephonically that he was joining the watch party and according to Ntombi, there wasn’t soup to prepare a plate.
Kelly and Senzo, in Zandie’s version of events, headed out to get loose change from her vehicle, a claim the defence may revisit, to purchase the soup.
By then, Longwe Twala was parked outside in a red Volkswagen Polo Vivo and, according to Zandie, he was with Meyiwa when she came to greet him at the driveway.
Meyiwa and Khumalo returned from the shop and the evening went on without trouble. At some time that evening, Meyiwa and his friends were outside preparing to leave for Mahamutsa’s party when Ntombi called them into the house to observe a traditional goodbye.
Zandie Khumalo testimony of the scuffle that ended allegedly Senzo Meyiwa’s life
According to Zandie, Kelly was in the middle of a joke when two men entered the house, one with dreadlocks and Accused 2, Bongani Ntanzi.
Zandie told the court she observed Ntanzi standing behind his gun-wielding accomplice from where she was seated, albeit her view was partially blocked by Twala who towered in front of her.
The Khumalo sister specifically recalled hearing the suspects demand them to take out money and cellphones, or in IsIZulu, “Kiphani imali nama cellphone.”
Zandie recalled hearing a firearm click and then witnessing Longwe push the gun-wielding intruder into the kitchen. Kelly ran to her sister’s bedroom and locked the door before Ntanzi could reach it.
In Zandie’s version of events, everyone in the house, at that point, was on their feet ambushing the intruders. Zandie tried to attack Ntanzi with Madlala’s crutches but failed. A more impactful attempt was then made by Tumelo, while his friend Meyiwa wrestled the gun-wielding suspect.
In a split second, Zandie recalled, a firearm went off and a spark that apparently scraped her right leg. The Khumalo sister claims she ran into the bathroom, past Kelly who had conjured up the courage to attack the armed robber.
Zandie heard two more gunshots coming from the kitchen and then a deafening silence.
This is where Khumalo’s testimony trailed off after Judge Maumela adjourned proceedings for the day. Zandie will be back in court on Friday, 19 May 2023.