The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumes in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today under visibly tightened security, after police revealed an alleged plot to assassinate key role players in the case.
A live stream of proceedings will be embedded in this article.
According to SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, police have opened a case of conspiracy to commit murder after receiving “concrete” intelligence that a group of men had been attending court “looking for an opportunity to eliminate key figures in the trial”.
Several individuals who were in the public gallery on Tuesday were taken in for questioning and profiling, with intelligence units placed on high alert.
Heightened security after plot to kill judge and others
Mathe confirmed that no arrests had been made yet, but said extra measures had been deployed “to eliminate the threat as well as to protect and save lives”.
Reports indicate that Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, who is presiding over the matter, appears to be the primary target identified in the intelligence, although investigators are still working to establish who else might have been in danger.
The conspiracy probe was triggered after three men who arrived at court with defence witness Sifiso “Gwabini” Zungu were removed from the courtroom by police on Tuesday, prompting a temporary halt to proceedings and a tense adjournment.
Where the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial left off
Tuesday’s sitting was scheduled to deal with the admissibility of a disputed statement Zungu allegedly made in 2019.
Zungu has told the court he was assaulted and coerced by police into signing a statement he never read, directly contradicting his uncle and key state witness, Constable Sizwe Skhumbuzo Zungu, who testified that all five accused were together at a Vosloorus hostel on the day Meyiwa was killed.
Judge Mokgoatlheng has previously indicated that a second trial-within-a-trial may be needed to decide whether Zungu’s alleged statement can be used, after defence lawyers objected to the state cross-examining him on the document while its origins remain in dispute.
Legal argument on that issue is expected to resume once the court has dealt with the immediate security concerns.
The case at the centre of the security scare
The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial relates to the 26 October 2014 shooting of the Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper at the Vosloorus home of his then girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo.
Five men — Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli and Mthobisi Mncube — are on trial for charges including murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
All five have pleaded not guilty.
Their defence teams argue that the wrong men are before court and that the real perpetrators have not been charged, while the state relies heavily on alleged confessions, cellphone evidence and hostel-based testimony that has itself become the subject of multiple legal challenges.
What to expect in court today
Today’s proceedings are likely to open with an update on the murder-conspiracy investigation and any additional security arrangements around the bench, prosecutors, investigators and witnesses.
Once that is addressed, the court is expected to return to the Zungu statement dispute and the state’s request for a fresh trial-within-a-trial.
Readers can follow developments via the live stream embedded below.
