Meyiwa state witness says defence leaked police documents to accused

A state witness in the Senzo Meyiwa murder case has accused the defence of allegedly leaking confidential police documents to the accused.

State witness Sgt Vusimuzi Mogane said the documents contained the names, personal information and statements made by witnesses of the other crimes that were still under investigation.

He said some of the suspects were pointed out as being involved in those crimes.

The documents were handed to the state yesterday and were shared with the defence. 

Mogane told the court that the leak would now compromise their investigations and pose a threat to the lives of the witness who were set to testify on those cases.

He said the cases being investigated included incidents in which people were shot, threatened and kidnapped.

“During the break, I saw the documents that I handed to [state prosecutor] Adv [George] Baloyi and it was confidential.

“Later, I saw Muzi reading the document and now I am worried on behalf of the witness[es] . Some of the accused in those cases are among the suspects [in court]

“Now I am worried whether my witnesses will still be alive tomorrow, there are a couple of case numbers and it is possible that they can access our computers and have access to the address of the witness,” Mogane said.

Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng said he was shocked that senior council would leak such confidential details to the accused.

“I am shocked because I am aware of the Intelligence Act that certain documents are classified. Those documents were meant to be seen by me first and I would read them in my chambers to the defence legal team.

“I am shocked that senior counsels like these can actually behave in this manner. I explicitly said that they [documents] are only for court officials,” he said, pointing at the defence lawyers and prosecutor.

The accused are Muzi Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokosizeni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli.

Meyiwa was shot at his former girlfriend home Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus in 2014 during an alleged robbery.

The defence team denied handing the documents to the accused.

Adv Thulani Mngomezulu representing Sibiya and Ntanzi said, “My Lord, I would actually like to exonerate myself. I have never consulted my client with the said accusations.”

Adv Charles Mnisi representing Mncube said: “I didn’t consult with my client this morning and I don’t know if he saw the documents or not.”

Adv Zithulele Nxumalo for Maphisa said he consulted his client based on the Mogane’s statement not the confidential documents.

“My Lord, I am not sure what is the witness worried about because we spoke about the statement he made on the 25th of October 2023. The consultation was based on the statement of the witness,” he said.

Adv Zandile Mshololo told the court that she had not seen the documents.

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