Meyiwa trial: Officer denies accused were forced to confess
A colonel told the court that accused number one Muzikakhulelwa Sibiya was read his rights and reminded that he could remain silent
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A senior police officer and state witness in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial told the Pretoria high court on Friday that accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, had no injuries and was not under the influence of drugs when he confessed to the crime in 2020.
Colonel Mhlanganyelwa Moses Mbotho, who was attached to the Randburg detective unit before his retirement in 2022, took the stand as the first witness in the “trial within a trial” of men accused of killing the footballer at the home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo on 26 October 2014 in Vosloorus, Gauteng.
The trial within a trial came after the prosecutor, advocate George Baloyi, said the state wanted to determine whether the confessions made by two of the accused, Sibiya and accused number two Bongani Ntanzi, were admissible.
Mbotho told the court that the alleged confession was taken from Sibiya at 9.45pm on 30 May 2020, after he was called by Colonel Bongani Gininda at 7pm.
“I told him I was home and I instructed him to bring the accused to the Diepkloof police station — and Randburg was far,” Mbotho said.
Mbotho said upon arrival, he introduced himself to Sibiya and asked what he had been arrested for.
“I then warned him that, according to the Constitution, he is not forced to tell me anything and I would write it down. I also told him that he has the right to be represented as the allegations against him were very serious,” Mbotho said.
Mbotho told the court that Sibiya said he did not need a lawyer yet. He said he just wanted to talk.
Sibiya was also read his rights and reminded that he had the right to remain silent and that anything he said would be used against him in court.
“Did anyone influence you to make the statement? He said nobody influenced him to make the statement. Have any promises been made to you to make the statement? He said no promises. Do you expect to benefit from the statement? He said no,” Mbotho told the court.
According to Mbotho, Sibiya said the only injuries he had were on his hands because the handcuffs were too tight.
On Wednesday, defence advocate Sipho Ramosepele asked the court for a postponement to consult on the confessions said to have been made by his clients Sibiya and Ntanzi.
Ramosepele said his clients had stated that they were coerced into signing confessions that had been pre-written.
“He [Ntanzi] never made any statement; he denies that he made a confession. My lord, the making of the statement [should] have been explained because he said the statement was brought to him — he was assaulted and coerced to sign the already written statement,” Ramosepele said.
The five men on trial for Meyiwa’s murder have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.
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