The lead investigating officer in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Brigadier Bongani Gininda, has finally taken the stand in the High Court in Pretoria.
Gininda is expected to give his evidence-in-chief on Tuesday before Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng during the trial-within-a-trial which is taking place to determine if confessions made by Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi were made freely and voluntarily.
Sibiya and Ntanzi were arrested in May and June 2020 respectively, and they allegedly made confessions to peace officers relating to the murder of the footballer during June 2020.
Their advocate Bheki Mngomezulu disputes the confessions were made voluntarily and has told the court they were assaulted and forced to make the confessions.
State advocate George Baloyi is expected to lead evidence from Gininda which includes admissions, warning statements and new details about the case.
Who Is Gininda?
He is a police officer with 30 years experience, having joined the SA Police Service in 1993 where he underwent basic policing training. He later underwent internal security training course, special weapons and explosives training, computer literacy training, vehicle related crimes and investigations training, investigations of case dockets and inquiry dockets and crime management training.
Gininda’s police experience
He has worked in the uniform branch from 1994, he started doing investigations at the Anti-Hijacking Task Team in 2003, joined the Brixton Vehicle Theft Unit in 2005, and in the same year he joined the Directorate of Priority Crimes (known as the Hawks) Organised Crime Johannesburg Stock Exchange unit. In 2007, he joined the Joburg Vehicle Theft Unit, and in 2009, he was promoted to the Vereeniging Vehicle Theft Unit.
He joined the Gauteng Provincial Detectives in 2011, which was working under the Provincial Task Team and in 2013, he was promoted to the head of the Gauteng Provincial Taxi Violence unit, before he was transferred to the Office of the National Commissioner in 2014.
Then in 2016, he moved back to the Gauteng Provincial Detectives. Gininda was was moved back to the National Commissioner under the pilot project of the National Cold Case Unit in 2017 before he was was permanently appointed head of the National Cold Case Unit in 2021.
Gininda told the court that the mandate of his unit was to look at all unresolved cases and that were never brought to court for prosecution.
“Once the case has gone cold, it falls within our mandate,” he said.
The Meyiwa murder docket was handed to Gininda’s team on November 12, 2018.
He told the court Sibiya was identified as a person of interest after the team discovered a Thembisa drugs case which was being investigated by Sergeant Batho Mogola, who apprehended Sibiya with other members on May 30, 2020.
On the same day, Gininda spoke with Sibiya in an interview and he made some admissions.
“I asked Sergeant Mogola and Sergeant Mabena to excuse us. I further told him the interview relates to the killing of Senzo Meyiwa,” he said.
Gininda said he spoke with Sibiya in Zulu and he was competent to do so as his mother was Zulu speaking. He read Sibiya his rights. Sibiya told him Gininda that he did not need an attorney and he wanted to speak.
Sibiya, Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli, are standing trial for the October 2014 Vosloorus murder of the footballer, who was killed at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in a suspected hit.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
IOL