The judge presiding over the Senzo Meyiwa trial on Monday said his hands were tied in terms of entertaining a request from the legal representative of four of the five accused who wanted a production company filming a Netflix documentary on the case to be barred from recording.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela of the high court in Pretoria said he cannot order out anyone that had applied to participate in the trial, especially those who applied as part of the media.
Maumela said: “I cannot order the people representing Netflix to vacate the courtroom. I cannot order Ten10 films to vacate. Whoever has an issue with that will take it up through the proper legal channels.”
Advocate Malesela Teffo, for the accused, expressed concern as the company aired a documentary days before the trial, telling the court that speaking to some witnesses in their series has opened them up for intimidation and harassment.
“My witnesses have been exposed to all kinds of threats. This is not only affecting our clients but the family of the bereaved,” Teffo said.
Teffo told the court that with mainstream media, they have a platform (BCSA) where they could lay a formal complaint.
The company made a media application to be part of the proceedings and then informed the court that they did not intend to flight another episode on the documentary before the trial has concluded.
Teffo, however, told the court he intended to take further action to have the production company barred.
Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, was gunned down in October 2014 in what was described as a botched robbery in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, in the presence of Khumalo, who was his girlfriend, and her mother Ntombi, sister Zandi, Zandi’s boyfriend Longwe Twala and his friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala. The matter continues.
Five men, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli, have been charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
They all pled not guilty.
After the Netflix debate, proceedings continued with Teffo picking up on the cross-examination of Sgt Thabo Mosia, asking him to confirm once more if he was aware that there was a second case in the Meyiwa matter allegedly being investigated.
READ ALSO: Sudan lifts state of emergency after deadly anti-coup protests
He placed an affidavit in court which Mosia confirmed was written by him in 2019 as per the request of a Maj-Gen Johan Buthelezi from the National SCI.
However, when asked about the case number on the affidavit which according to Teffo’s previous submissions in court is a second case that implicates Kelly Khumalo and the people who were in the house during the murder, Mosia said he was not aware there was an affidavit for that case.
Mosia is yet to go through the contents of the affidavits which he made five years after the murder and confirmed in court it was not made under duress.
The matter continues on Tuesday.
