In a significant development in the ongoing trial of the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa, it has been revealed that cellphones confiscated from two of the accused while they were in detention show that all five men accused of the crime were in contact.
The evidence was presented in court after the recent discovery of cellphones belonging to Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi and Fisokuhle Ntuli.
During the trial, Warrant Officer Lawrence Thabo Ndlovu testified that accused two, Ntanzi, was found with a Samsung cellphone on February 7, 2021, while he was detained at the Villieria Police Station in Pretoria.
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Ndlovu downloaded data from the device found in Ntanzi’s possession, which revealed crucial information about the communication between the accused.
Furthermore, Sibusiso Yaka, a retired warden at Qalakabusha Correctional Centre, testified that he confiscated a cellphone from accused five, Fisokuhle Ntuli, on August 19, 2020. The phone in question was a Stylo.
Gideon Gouws, a cellphone data analyst, took the stand at the North Gauteng High Court to provide insights into the data retrieved from Ntanzi and Ntuli’s phones.
Starting with Ntanzi’s phone, Gouws revealed that it had two SIM cards, one from MTN and another from Vodacom. However, it was discovered that Ntanzi had switched from Vodacom to Cell C at some point.
Gouws stated that there were no contacts on the MTN SIM card, but the Vodacom SIM card contained contacts that were saved on a Microsoft Excel sheet. These contacts indicated communication between all the accused before the court.
Additionally, a memory card obtained from Ntanzi’s phone revealed that he had saved a photo from a newspaper article related to the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.
Regarding Ntuli’s device, Gouws mentioned that it also had two Vodacom SIM cards. However, most of the data on the phone had been deleted, and Gouws was uncertain about the reason behind this.
Nevertheless, he discovered that Ntuli had contacts of his legal representative, Advocate Zandile Mshololo, and accused three, Mthobisi Mncube.
The revelation of cellphone evidence showing communication between the accused individuals is a significant development in the Senzo Meyiwa trial.
This evidence strengthens the prosecution’s case and suggests coordination or collaboration among the accused. The data from the confiscated cellphones provides valuable insights into the connections between the accused and sheds light on their involvement in the crime.
