The Pretoria high court has instructed the prosecution and defence  in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial to find a solution to concerns raised by one of the accused about unbearable conditions at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison.

On Tuesday, Adv Malesela Teffo made a request for a letter written by Mthobisi Prince Mncube regarding the conditions at the Pretoria facility to be read in court.

Teffo told the court that Mncube wrote the letter and made prison authorities aware of its contents and therefore it has to be heard during the trial as it concerns his life.

“I have said it that by the time the trial finishes, he maybe six feet underground because of the conditions at the prison. Previously, we requested that the head of prison  be summoned to come here to respond to the allegations that were made against that prison...

“My client is suffering. I can feel this excruciating pain on his behalf. We are not saying after reading the letter, the court must issue an order. We are saying it should hear the conditions in which my client lives,” Teffo said.

Teffo is representing four of the five accused.

But  prosecutor Adv George Baloyi and Adv Zandile Mshololo for one of the five men opposed the reading of the letter as they have not read its contents.

Baloyi argued that prison authorities must be given a chance to respond to allegations that could be contained in the letter before it is read before court. He recommended that the matter stand down until Wednesday.

While judge Tshifhiwa Maumela agreed with Baloyi and Mshololo on giving prison authorities an opportunity to reply to the allegations in the letter, he raised concerns about the safety of the accused in prison.

“When [the survival] of the accused is raised, I cannot brush it off because in the history of this country, things happen in prison...When it regards to the safety or even the survival of any of the people that appear before me... as a human being and as the court, I have to devote time and hear what is happening,” Maumela said.

He added that if Mncube were to die without his concerns being heard in court, that will stay with his conscience for good.

Teffo has previously complained about the conditions in which Mncube is living under at the maximum security section of Kgosi Mampuru II prison, but the Department of Justice and correctional services came to court and said they had housed each of the accused based on their risk profile.

Earlier, Maumela and Teffo once again had heated arguments over procedure.

Teffo complained that Mshololo had been given time to speak without interruption from Maumela while in his case it was the opposite.

“While Mshololo was given the opportunity to say what she said, I was looking at my watch. I looked at the time she was given without interruption. Now I just want to say something that will just cost us 45 seconds.

“Which court am I attending and [which] is Mshololo attending. Which school of law did I attend that Mshololo did not attend?” Teffo asked.

Maumela responded: “ I’ve been wondering about it. To the extent of wondering whether it was day or night school.”

Meyiwa was killed in October 2014 at his then girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus, on the East Rand.

Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli have been charged with his murder.

The five face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and illegal possession of ammunition.

The trial continues.