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| Image: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart |
South Africa's trial of the five men charged with the murder of soccer player Senzo Meyiwa has been delayed due to a missing section of expert evidence from the transcribed documents. The defence was expected to begin cross-examining ballistic expert Lt-Col Christian Mangena, but the court heard that about 54 minutes of transcription from August 30 2023, the day Mangena testified, is missing. This was discovered by the defense during consultation with their ballistic expert last week. State prosecutor advocate George Baloyi said this was a rare occurrence and no-one foresaw the possibility of a big chunk being missing.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng had previously raised concern about the long delay in cross-examining Mangena, especially given the crucial evidence he tendered to the court. Mangena, who testified on evidence about the alleged murder weapon eight months ago, is yet to be cross-examined. He confirmed that the gun found on Mthobisi Prince Mncube when he was arrested in a separate matter in 2015, a year after Meyiwa's killing, is the same one that killed Meyiwa.
Mangena testified that the bullet that struck Meyiwa "perforated his body and hit the door behind him." He could not rule out the possibility of an altercation or struggle between Meyiwa and the shooter. The court has instructed that the transcription be made overnight and provided on Tuesday morning, and the matter has been postponed to Tuesday.
