Pretoria - Senzo Meyiwa’s long-time friend Mthokozisi Thwala, was today accused of fabricating his evidence regarding the night the soccer star was killed, as, according to defence Advocate Sipho Ramosepele, there were no intruders in the house that night.
Twala returned to the witness stand, after the proceedings were cut short on Friday after Ramosepele, a legal representative for two of the five accused, was not feeling well.
Thwala was testifying about circumstances linked to Meyiwa's fatal shooting at his singer girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus on October 26 2014.
During the cross-examination Ramosepele accused Thwala of having several versions about what happened that night.
He said the version given by Thwala to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, was his sixth version.
Thwala earlier testified that Longwe Twala, the son of musician Chicco Twala, who was in the house at the time, ran away during the incident.
According to Thwala Longwe jumped up and pushed one of the intruders - the man who carried a gun - out of the way. He said Longwe then ran out of the house.
According to Thwala’s evidence, none of the intruders ran after Longwe.
Ramosepele put it to Thwala that this would have been the perfect opportunity for Longwe to summon help. He questioned the witness as to why this did not happen. Thwala said he had no idea and that Longwe will have to answer that question.
Ramosepele also questioned, what he referred to as Thwala’s “story,” as to how anyone would take the risk to push an armed person out of the way and run past him, out of the house.
“I put it to you that this story is not true….It would have been an act of bravado on the part of Longwe to run past the intruders… There were no intruders in the house” , Ramosepele told Thwala.
Thwala, who stuck to his version, was also accused by the lawyer of tailoring his evidence whenever questions “ became uncomfortable” for him.
“You have selected amnesia,” Ramosepele told Thwala.
Ramosepele is representing the accused Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi, who are on trial along with Sifisokuhle Ntuli, Mthobisi Prince Ncube and Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa.
Ramosepele earlier suggested that the crime scene was contaminated before the police’s arrival for investigation.
Thwala, however, stuck to his guns, saying he would not like to comment on something he didn’t know about.
A firearm-wielding intruder, according to Thwala, demanded money and cell phones from house occupants, which included Kelly, her two children, her sister Zandile and mother Ntombi.
Pretoria News