The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial-within-a-trial resumed on Tuesday, with critical details about Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane’s car movements to Phokeng under scrutiny.
Phokeng car movements take centre stage in Senzo Meyiwa trial
The trial focused on the car movements of Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane after the arrest of accused number 2, Bongani Ntanzi, in the murder of Senzo Meyiwa.
The defence claims that Ntanzi and accused number 1, Muzi Sibiya, were forced into confessions.
A significant part of Tuesday’s proceedings involved scrutinising the vehicle route taken by Mogane on 19 June 2020, the day Ntanzi allegedly confessed.
Questions were raised about Mogane exceeding the speed limit during the drive to Phokeng, which he justified due to the open road and the car’s condition.
The automatic vehicle locator (AVL) system’s data was critical in establishing the journey’s timeline, which included a brief stop at a garage with a Wimpy for food pick-up. The focus was also on the activities upon reaching Phokeng, where they searched for a hoodie and found bullets for the R5.
Mogane detailed the search procedure in Phokeng and the subsequent steps, including going to the police station for backup and processing the exhibits. He emphasised that Ntanzi was detained without injuries and discussed the return journey to Johannesburg.
Questions were raised about Mogane’s recollection of the route from Phokeng to the Primrose Police Station.
The judge noted the unrealistic expectation of recalling precise details without referring to documents, like the car tracker data.
There were revelations about the discovery of new AVL documents pertinent to the case, which effectively forced a postponement for further cross-examination.
The Senzo Meyiwa trial-within-a-trial will resume on Wednesday with Sgt Mogane back on the stand.