Meyiwa family tormented by delays

This time to July 17 and now some doubt presiding Judge Tshifiwo Maumela may not return to the bench at the Pretoria High Court when the trial resumes.

Since the trial began with the first state witness, the trial has taken a bumpy road.

First, it was the forensic officer Thabo Mosia whose testimony was found riddled with inconsistencies by the defence advocates.

The defence advocate Maselela Teffo then withdrew from the case due to several heated courtroom disagreements during the trial with Maumela. This later led to him being de-robed by the justice system and barred from the trial proceedings and as a legal representative.

To date, three other key state witnesses, Mthokozisi Thwala and Tumelo Madlala (both of them from KZN and known as close friends of Meyiwa), as well as Zandile Khumalo (the younger sister of the deceased’s girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo ), seemingly turned their respective court testimonies into melodramatic tactics.

It seems it was an attempt to ridicule and toy with the questioning process of the defence council as they made a mockery of the court process.

This seemed to irk Maumela who was often forced to interject and reprimand them for their unethical conduct.
Zandile even approached the court and asked that the media be barred from taking pictures of her in court and recording her testimony. Maumela then put his foot down and curbed some of her demands by allowing the court process to proceed as usual unhindered but allowing her to give her testimony without being visualised.

However, when the trial re-opened on June 12, the court proceedings were abruptly halted by state advocate George Baloyi, who stunned the courtroom when he disclosed that the presiding judge would not be available to continue with the trial due to ill health.

Baloyi added that the ailing judge was unlikely to return to the court soon and that the judge may be away for much longer than expected. This is according to his medical doctors.

Deputy Judge Aubrey Ledwaba added that due to Maumela’s illness, the trial would be postponed to July 17 and that possibly a new judge might have to be brought in to preside over the trial.

The sudden announcement was not well received by members of the Meyiwa family who had travelled from KZN to Pretoria. The murdered soccer star’s sister Nomalanga Meyiwa, speaking outside the Pretoria High Court, said she feels her family may have to wait much longer to hear the truth about her brother’s murder.

Nomalanga also described how the latest postponement could be devastating to their bereaved mother when she hears about yet another postponement of the trial.

She said her mother has not only lost a son, but she has also lost her aggrieved husband Sam (Senzo’s father), who died of a broken heart several years after the murder. He said the police had failed his family when they could not bring his killer to justice and resolve the murder of his son.

Nomalanga said she now believes the answers to her brother’s murder will take even longer to be resolved.
Meanwhile, Senzo’s brother Sifiso also shared his disappointment at the latest postponement. He lashed at those he claimed were behind the suppression of the truth about his brother’s murder.

He further dismissed the evidence that Senzo was shot and killed during a botched robbery at the home of his then-girlfriend Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus. He said there were no intruders in the Khumalo household on the night his brother was murdered and only those who were present in the house when Senzo was killed should be brought to court and answer for his murder.

Nomalanga said she had expected to spend several days in Pretoria for the duration of the trial and that the sudden postponement was a setback for the Meyiwa family.

Without a doubt, the Meyiwa family feels aggrieved by yet another delay in the murder trial. And the fact that Maumela may not be there when the trial resumes in July, suddenly casts another shadow over the case.

Could this result in the five men currently on trial for the death of the football star being set free? And what about the controversial call for all the people who were present in the Khumalo home to be judged for perjury?

For now, members of the Meyiwa family, the media as well as members of the public will have to bite the bullet and wait in anticipation.