Senzo Meyiwa Trial | Retired general distances himself from claims against Sibiya

Retired senior South African Police Service (SAPS) Major-General, Vincent Leshabane, says he does not dispute claims made by key defence witness, Makhosonke Zungu, that accused number one in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Muzi Sibiya, was allegedly involved in a previous killing but was never arrested.

Leshabane testified on Wednesday in the Pretoria High Court as part of the defense’s ongoing case in the long-running murder trial involving the five men accused of killing the former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper.

Meyiwa was shot and killed in October 2014 while visiting his girlfriend and mother of his child, Kelly Khumalo, at her Vosloorus home.

In a controversial police statement, Zungu alleged that the five accused were “dangerous hitmen” who openly discussed killings.

He further claimed that he once saw Sibiya carrying a firearm and alleged that Sibiya had shot and killed a man from Ulundi in the same year Meyiwa was murdered.

According to Zungu, Sibiya’s father allegedly intervened and offered compensation to the victim’s family in an attempt to avoid prosecution, resulting in Sibiya never being arrested.

The defence objected to the line of questioning, arguing that the allegations are irrelevant to Meyiwa’s murder.

While Leshabane declined to comment directly on the allegations, he admitted that he had authorised Zungu to travel to KwaZulu-Natal to verify information relating to the accused.

Leshabane told the court that shortly after sending Zungu to KwaZulu-Natal, lead investigator, Brigadier Bongani Gininda, contacted him to ask about Zungu’s whereabouts.

He said he informed Zungu that Gininda wanted to meet him.

According to Leshabane, Gininda later told him he would take over the investigation, a move he says he fully supported.

Leshabane said he never received feedback about the meeting between Zungu and Gininda and did not expect any, as he believed the investigation was in capable hands.

However, in a dramatic turn, Leshabane claimed that Zungu later confided in him that Gininda had allegedly pressured him to draft a false statement implicating Leshabane so he could be arrested.

Leshabane further told the court that Zungu requested a transfer to another police station in an effort to escape the alleged intimidation.

He also testified that Gininda asked him in 2023 to draft a statement detailing his knowledge of the case, specifically to corroborate evidence linked to Zungu.

Leshabane said that by then, Zungu had already testified about the 2014 killing of the former Bafana Bafana captain, allegedly implicating the five accused and describing them as dangerous individuals.

However, Zungu later distanced himself from that version, claiming the contents of the statement did not reflect what he had originally told investigators.

Leshabane said he agreed to draft the statement as requested by Gininda, insisting he relied on his own knowledge of the case, including information dating back to 2019 when he headed the Gauteng provincial office.

He said Gininda appeared dissatisfied with some of the details included.

Leshabane further told the court that he only became aware of the contents of Zungu’s statement during his testimony in court.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao