Pretoria - Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, the man who was positively identified from the dock as one of the two men who stormed into the Vosloorus home where Senzo Meyiwa was shot and killed will be applying for bail next week.
As the trial looking into the murder of the soccer player resumed in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria for the last time today before the long adjournment to November, the court was requested to endorse his (Ntanzi's) bail application.
The legal counsel of accused one to four, Thomas Thobane informed the court that he had been given an instruction by Ntanzi to seek to apply for bail.
His request was accepted and the state indicated that he would be brought to court on Thursday, September 22 to proceed with the bail application.
Earlier in the week despite numerous attempts by defence counsels for the accused to stop the identification from the dock, Ntanzi was positively identified as one of the attackers by Meyiwa's childhood friend Tumelo Madlala.
Madlala is the state's third witness who has been on the stand since Tuesday, following the conclusion of the testimony of Sergeant Patrick Mlungisi Mthethwa, attached to the Vosloorus police who were amongst the first to respond to the shooting of Meyiwa in 2014.
According to Madlala, 32-year-old Ntanzi was the man whose hand Meyiwa grabbed as he pressed him against the wall in the kitchen after the two attackers entered the house.
“A person you have seen before, if you meet this person again, it won’t be difficult to recognise that person. And I won’t tell lies about a person. Even that person knows,” said Madlala following the identification.
Of the incident, Madlala, said Longwe Twala, Zandi Khumalo’s boyfriend at the time, rose up and pushed one of the men on his way out, while Kelly Khumalo ran into one of the bedrooms.
He said there was then a second man who was tall and slender, who was then attacked by Meyiwa.
At some point, Madlala said he witnessed Kelly, Zandi, and their mother Gladness Khumalo assaulting the other assailant with his crutches.
Although he (Madlala) said he stood up and punched the attacker who was held against the wall by Meyiwa, after a shot went off, he supposedly ran into one of the bedrooms where Kelly and Meyiwa's daughter Thingo was sleeping.
It was only when he came out of the room did he discover Meyiwa lying on the floor with a bullet wound in his chest.
During today's proceedings, Thobane continued to put various scenarios to Madlala including that the hat which was found on the scene, actually belonged to him and not the attackers, which he denied.
The legal counsel stressed that there were no intruders that came into the house on the night, and instead Meyiwa was shot by one of the occupants in the house after an altercation ensued between Meyiwa, Khumalo, her sister and Twala.
He said the fight came as a result of Meyiwa and Kelly's sister who had started having a sexual relationship, in Kelly's absence.
Madlala instead described to the court that a short man with dreadlocks adorned in a caramel jacket was one of the attackers that came into the house whilst they were watching a soccer game between Manchester United and Chelsea on the night.
The matter had to be adjourned early as defence counsel for the fifth accused advocate Zandile Mshololo informed the court that she was unwell.
The matter was postponed to November 14, for further cross-examination.
Pretoria News