Will Meyiwa trial be delayed after death of defence lawyer?

Senzo Meyiwa murder accused Muzi Sibiya holds the key to whether the trial continues without further delays or not.

This comes after Sibiya's lawyer Thulani Mngomezulu's family announced his death on Tuesday. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and analysts said Sibiya would have to decide if he wanted to represent himself, brief a lawyer of one of his co-accused or get a new lawyer.

Getting a new lawyer means the trial will be delayed as they would need to be afforded time to be briefed by their client, go over the evidence and decide if they want to recall witnesses who have already testified.

Mngomezulu died in the early hours of Tuesday at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Ekurhuleni, according to a statement issued by his family. 

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said while the trial will continue on Wednesday, the rest will depend on whether Sibiya "wants a legal representative or to brief one of the existing legal representatives" as his counsel. 

Mngomezulu represented Sibiya, who is among the five men accused of killing the late Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain 10 years ago.

Sibiya was arrested in May 2020. Police say they found live ammunition placed in a plastic bag in his shack in Tembisa. At the time, he told police that the gun was with his friend at Vusumuzi Hostel. He later "confessed" and made pointing-outs of his alleged role in the Meyiwa hit, which led to the arrest of his co-accused.

Criminal law expert Willem Els said the trial cannot continue without Sibiya having a representative.

"Normally, in cases like that, whenever your lawyer dies, whether your lawyer gets sick, or whether you fire the lawyer, or whether the lawyer withdraws, they have to postpone the case to afford you time to get a new lawyer. And then that lawyer needs to have time to prepare himself or herself, and then the case can continue. So it's just going to be a delay in the case now,” he said.

He said that the accused has a few options.

"The first option is that if he gets a state-appointed lawyer, he has to take that lawyer, or he can get himself a private lawyer, or he can decide to defend himself. But at the end of the day, the accused has to inform the bench what he’s going to do."

Another legal expert, Mpumelelo Zikalala, also said Sibiya will be given an opportunity to find another legal representative. He said the new lawyer would have to start from scratch by going through transcripts [evidence led in court] and will decide if any of the past witnesses would have to be recalled for cross-examination.

Meyiwa's trial has been marred by countless delays which resulted in Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo telling judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng in August that he was not satisfied with the pace of the trial.  

This is after the court couldn't proceed because of outstanding transcripts from Lt-Col Christian Mangena's testimony.

"JP [Mlambo] is perturbed by this case. He actually remarks that he thinks I'm enjoying this case. That's why it's not finishing. That's his remarks. He wants this case to finish and be finalised. Because this case affects some persons and they want to know how it finishes," Mokgoatlheng told the court gallery.

Last month, Mokgoatlheng read out a letter from a concerned citizen, in which the individual expressed dissatisfaction about the delays.

The author complained about long adjournments and said Meyiwa and the families of the accused needed closure. He also said Meyiwa's father died without knowing who killed his son. 

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