Senzo Meyiwa trial: Tumelo Madlala contradicts himself on the stand

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Tumelo Madlala, the state’s third witness, contradicted himself about when and where he called Senzo Meyiwa’s brother, Sifiso, to tell him the footballer had been “accidentally shot”.

The court heard that Meyiwa was killed by his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, who “accidentally shot” him with a revolver allegedly brought to the Khumalo family home in Vosloorus by Longwe Twala, the son of music producer Sello “Chicco” Twala.  

The assertion that Khumalo killed Meyiwa was first made on 1 June by Dan Teffo, the former defence counsel for the first four of the five accused. 

The state claims it was a botched robbery. 

Madlala, who began his testimony at the Pretoria high court on Tuesday by saying he was Meyiwa’s best friend, contradicted himself about which phone he had used to deliver the bad news about the soccer player’s death. 

On Wednesday, while being questioned by prosecutor George Baloyi, Madlala testified that he called Sifiso Meyiwa from Botshelong Hospital in Vosloorus, after his brother had been declared dead, using a phone he borrowed from a neighbour of the Khumalo family. 

“I did not have airtime at the time,” Madlala said, adding that he remembered the  information because the neighbour, a woman, had also given Madlala a blue face cloth to try to stop the bleeding from Meyiwa’s chest.  

But on Thursday Madlala changed his testimony while being cross-examined by defence attorney TT Thobane, saying he had made the call from the Khumalo home using his own phone. 

Thobane is representing the first four accused — Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Ncube and Mthokoziseni Maphisa — while the fifth, Fisokuhle Ntuli, is represented by Zandile Mshololo. 

Thobane put it to Madlala that Longwe Twala arrived wielding a revolver at the Khumalo home, whereafter an argument ensued over an alleged affair Meyiwa was having with Zandi Khumalo, his girlfriend’s sister. 

“That’s when the deceased wrestled with him [Longwe] and gave the firearm to Kelly Khumalo,” Thobane asserted, adding that Kelly Khumalo “accidently shot” Meyiwa and that Longwe ran out of the house. 

“You called Sifiso Meyiwa and said: ‘Senzo Meyiwa was shot by mistake,” Thobane said. 

He added that he would call a witness to testify that Madlala was stopped “by someone who was in the house [when Meyiwa was killed]” from telling the footballer’s brother the truth about Meyiwa’s killing.   

“I was at the door when I called Sifiso, at Kelly’s house. No one heard me speak to Sifiso,” Madlala responded. 

Thobane reminded Madlala about his Wednesday testimony; that he had used the phone of a female neighbour to call his family, as well as the Meyiwa family. 

“I called Sifiso even before we departed from the scene. When I was at the hospital, that’s when calls were coming in,” Madlala testified. 

Thobane said he would leave what he called Madlala’s contradictory testimony for argument towards the end of the trial. Madlala is expected to continue his testimony on Friday. 

All five accused face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition, to which they have pleaded not guilty. They are remanded in custody.