The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial took a dramatic turn when, on Wednesday, a defence lawyer representing one of the accused requested access to all photographs found on his client’s phone, not just the ones presented as evidence by the State.
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The trial’s latest development centres on State witness Constable Sizwe Zungu, who was undergoing cross-examination.
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Zungu’s testimony had previously placed the accused at the Sotho hostel in Vosloorus on the day of Meyiwa’s murder. However, at least two of the accused have maintained that they were not in the vicinity of Vosloorus on that fateful day.
During Zungu’s evidence-in-chief, it was revealed that photographs found on Mncube’s confiscated cellphone were admitted as evidence. These photos were alleged to have been taken on the same day as Meyiwa’s murder. Mncube did not dispute that he appeared in the images.
The photos were taken while Mncube, Zungu, and two other accused, Bongani Ntanzi and Muzi Sibiya, were reportedly purchasing liquor. Notably, Zungu previously testified that when he initially encountered Mncube at the hostel, he was wearing a lime-coloured T-shirt and a necklace, but he was not wearing the same attire in the photographs.
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In response to these discrepancies, Mncube’s lawyer, during cross-examination, questioned Zungu about these specific photographs. However, after a short adjournment, the defence lawyer stated that he would not be able to continue the cross-examination without access to all the photos on Mncube’s phone.
Consequently, he requested that the State provide copies of all the images for examination. State advocate George Baloyi responded by stating that the investigating officer would attempt to procure the images before the end of the day.
Alas, court proceedings are scheduled to resume on Thursday.
