In a dramatic and pivotal day at the North Gauteng High Court, a defense witness known only as “Gwabeni” delivered a blistering rebuttal to the state’s timeline, directly contradicting the testimony of a police constable and denying he had any contact with the five men accused of murdering footballer Senzo Meyiwa on the day of the killing.
The witness, testifying under a pseudonym to protect his identity, systematically dismantled the evidence of Constable Sizwe Zungu, who had become a cornerstone of the state’s case. In 2023, Constable Zungu told the court he was with Gwabeni at Johannesburg’s Carlton Centre on October 26, 2014—the day Meyiwa was shot at the home of singer Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus.
Zungu had testified that later that same evening, he saw the five accused—Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli—at the Basotho Hostel in Mzimhlope. He claimed some were armed and that they appeared “shocked and panicky” upon their return, with one allegedly stating they had been to “do a job in Vosloorus.”
A Complete Disavowal
From the stand, Gwabeni offered a starkly different narrative. He flatly denied ever meeting Constable Zungu on the day in question, stating their first contact occurred only in 2017. He further rejected ever being at the Basotho Hostel with Zungu to see the accused.
Under intense cross-examination, Gwabeni expanded his denial to include other critical details from Zungu’s testimony. He refuted claims of receiving phone calls from the accused, denied introducing Zungu to them, and dismissed the entire sequence of events presented by the state as fiction.
“I did not see these people on that day. I did not receive any calls. These things he is saying, they never happened,” Gwabeni stated firmly.
Navigating Complicated Ties
The defense did not shy away from the complex web of relationships surrounding the case. Gwabeni acknowledged that he is related to some of the accused—a fact the prosecution has used to suggest a conspiracy of silence. He also confirmed a distant, familial connection to Constable Zungu himself, describing them as “relatives from different branches of the family.” This admission added a layer of personal history to the starkly contradictory accounts, suggesting deep-seated community and familial rifts that are now playing out in the national spotlight.
A Fractured Case and a Pivotal Moment
The stark contradiction between the two witnesses underscores the significant rifts in the witness accounts that have plagued the trial for years. For the defense, Gwabeni’s testimony was a crucial opportunity to cast profound doubt on the state’s entire narrative, portraying Zungu as an unreliable witness whose story was fabricated or misremembered.
For the prosecution, the challenge now is to demonstrate why the court should believe Constable Zungu’s version over Gwabeni’s, despite the latter’s categorical denials. The exchange represents a critical juncture in a trial that has been characterized by numerous twists, turns, and unresolved questions about what truly happened on the fateful evening of October 26, 2014.
As the trial adjourned, the conflicting testimonies left the courtroom with more questions than answers, pushing the search for conclusive truth in the murder of South Africa’s beloved goalkeeper further into a murky and contested past.
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