The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumes in the High Court in Pretoria today as the defence continues its cross examination of Absalom Zungu, the man whose disputed 2019 statement is at the centre of renewed tension between the accused, investigators and families linked to the case.
On Monday, Zungu told the court he fears a statement he insists he never made could trigger hostility among families in his community after police claimed he had implicated two of the accused in the 2014 killing of the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper.
The court heard that Zungu now denies ever providing investigators with information about the suspects. Instead, he alleges his son, state witness Constable Sizwe Zungu, conspired with police to create the disputed document.
Zungu said his name had been used “in a dangerous way” and that he only learned of the case being opened under his identity once he was called to testify.
During cross examination, Advocate Zithulele Nxumalo presented documents showing Zungu’s identity details, which he rejected, saying the ID number displayed did not match his. He also told the court he had never consented to accompany police before the alleged fabrication of the statement.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo later questioned him on whether he had ever given Brigadier Bongani Gininda, the lead investigator, any information about the suspects.
“I’ve never given him any information,” he said, maintaining he was unaware of the case opened in his name and disputing claims that he cooperated with police as described in state documents.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng intervened at one point to clarify that the case was not opened because of Zungu, but because Meyiwa had been killed.
Zungu, however, argued that the way his name appeared in investigative records risked stirring conflict between families from “different villages” back home, saying the allegations were capable of inciting violence.
Zungu is the father of Constable Sizwe Zungu, the state witness who previously placed all five accused men at a Vosloorus hostel on the day of the shooting.
The defence has sought to challenge both the son’s testimony and the origins of the 2019 statement.
His cross examination will continue today as the defence presses its claim that the document was fabricated.
Watch the live stream of the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial below.
