Pretoria - The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial’s first witness, Sergeant Thabo Johannes Mosia, yesterday told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that he received a call to attend to the incident at the Khumalo residence in Vosloorus at about 11.45pm and arrived at 12.20am.
Mosia, who is attached to the Springs Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management Division, was among the first officers who attended the scene on October 26, 2014.
Mosia said he arrived at the Khumalo residence and was taken on a walk-through of the scene by another officer, and during that time he collected a fragmented bullet, a grey, white and brown hat, as well as a silver walking stick in the kitchen.
Mosia said he was responsible for collecting, packaging, and processing all exhibits at the scene.
He said that during the walkabout they were able to establish that a group of people had entered the house through the kitchen doorway.
The officer said he returned to the home the following day, on October 27, where he said he was joined by other officers in order to continue the forensic investigations.
He told the court that during the visit he collected DNA evidence by swabbing different areas around the house, which included wet and dry samples of the bedroom door handle, the floor next to the TV stand where bloodstains were found, as well as another from the bloodstains found on the tiled kitchen wall.
Further swabs were obtained from the toilet door handle, the third bedroom door handle and a sample from a 250ml can of Smirnoff found in the living area.
The swabs were packaged and sent to the Forensic Science Lab in Silverton, Pretoria, to be examined and to be kept safely to enable comparison at a later stage.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela queried concerns about evidence having been tampered with, but the State and witnesses indicated that that would be addressed at a later stage.
Ealier, Judge Maumela did a U-turn and excused Kelly Khumalo’s legal representative, Magdalene Moonsamy, from her “watching brief” in the trial.
Moonsamy announced at the start of the trial on April 11 in the Gauteng High Court that she would be joining the trial proceedings on a “watching brief” on behalf of the singer.
Five men, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifokuhle Ntuli, are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm as well as possession of ammunition for the 2014 murder of Meyiwa while he was at Khumalo's home in Vosloorus. All of the men have pleaded not guilty.
Pretoria News