The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumes today, Friday, 20 June 2025, at the Pretoria High Court with expectations centred around the pending return of Sergeant Moses Mabasa to the witness stand.
What to expect from the Senzo Meyiwa trial today
Mabasa’s testimony is necessary before the court can officially receive and consider a newly completed dental report on accused number three, Mthobisi Mncube.
The report stems from the defence’s recent request to subject Mncube to a dental examination. This examination aims to challenge the state’s evidence suggesting that Mncube had a gold tooth at the time of the 2014 shooting that killed the footballer Senzo Meyiwa.
The state previously introduced a photograph, retrieved from Mncube’s digital memory card, that allegedly shows him with dreadlocks and a gold tooth. Witnesses have testified that an intruder with a gold tooth was present in the Vosloorus home on the night of the incident.
Advocate Charles Mnisi, who represents Mncube, argued that the defence had not been given advance notice that the state would rely on the image as a critical part of their case. He said that without proper time to prepare, and without clarity on the evidence’s role, his client’s right to a fair trial could be undermined.
The court allowed the examination, and the results have since been made available. However, the findings are being withheld from court records until Mabasa can resume his testimony. Mabasa is currently attending to another legal matter, which delayed his return.
Mnisi previously informed the court that Mncube preferred to be examined by a private dentist, citing a lack of trust in state mechanisms due to previous events during the trial. Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng granted the request for the dental examination but did not specify whether a private or state medical officer would carry it out.
While other defence lawyers, including Advocates Sipho Ramosepele and Zandile Mshololo, had prior commitments and were unavailable earlier in the week, the trial is expected to proceed today with either the continuation of testimony or court direction concerning the dental report’s admissibility.
State prosecutor Advocate Ronnie Sibanda has maintained that the photographic evidence presented by Mabasa is not central to identification but is instead based on Mabasa’s observational analysis as a data analyst. Sibanda stressed that if the defence questions this observation, they should do so through cross-examination.
Until Mabasa’s return, the trial continues to hinge on resolving whether the contested photographic and dental evidence aligns with the descriptions provided by eyewitnesses in the 2014 shooting. The outcome may affect how closely Mncube can be connected to the description of the shooter in the ongoing case involving the death of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa.
Watch the Senzo Meyiwa trial live here
As proceedings resume, attention will focus on whether Sergeant Mabasa returns to court, and whether the dental report will be accepted into the trial record, potentially influencing the direction of testimony moving forward.
Tune into proceedings below:
