Senzo Meyiwa trial | Mncube’s phone data, photos under the microscope as State challenges his alibi

The State has challenged accused number three Mthobisi Mncube’s account of his movements on the day Senzo Meyiwa was killed, using photographs and cellphone records to dispute his version of events.

Prosecutors have been scrutinising Mncube’s photographs, cellphone metadata and movements on the morning of 26 October 2014, attempting to challenge his version of events on the day Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa was gunned down.

At the centre of the latest courtroom exchanges is image 46, which shows Mncube alongside his late friend, Mabungu Ntuli, accused number four, Mthokoziseni Mapisa, and another individual identified as Sphiva Ntuli.

Mncube insists the photograph was taken on the morning of the murder, maintaining that he and the group had left Johannesburg’s CBD and were heading towards Vosloorus.

He testified that he was in the company of Mapisa, Sigayo Jiyani, Mabungu Ntuli, Linda Dlamini and Zenzele Mchunu that morning, when they allegedly hatched a plan to travel to Spruit in Katlehong.

The group reportedly travelled in a white minibus taxi driven by Mchunu.

The State, however, disputes this timeline. Prosecutor, Dr. Ronnie Sibanda, maintains that image 46 was taken on 21 October 2014, five days before Meyiwa’s murder, and not on the morning Mncube claims.

Sibanda also points to cellphone records, arguing that Mncube’s phone connected to a different cellphone tower from the one linked to Ntuli’s phone on the day in question.

Mncube, however, is not budging, accusing the prosecutor of lying about the photograph’s date.

The photographs are not the only pieces of evidence being used to test Mncube’s version.

The State presented additional images believed to have been taken on 26 October 2014, comparing them with image 46 and questioning why Mncube appears to be wearing different clothes.

The prosecution’s argument adds another layer to its attempt to establish when the photographs were taken and whether they support Mncube’s account of his movements.

Vodacom forensic liaison supervisor, Pinky Vythilingum, previously testified that Ntuli had told her Mncube arrived in Johannesburg on the morning of 26 October in a taxi driven by Mchunu.

The cross-examination has also focused on the Basotho Hostel in Vosloorus, the location where the State believes Mncube’s cellphone connected to a nearby tower on the day Meyiwa was killed.

Mncube has denied being at the hostel, insisting that although he was in Vosloorus, he went to the Lesedi area, where individuals he identified as Makhekhe and Ncamuza live.

Sibanda reminded the court of Vythilingum’s July 2024 testimony that Mncube’s phone had connected to a cellphone tower just below the Basotho Hostel.

The court heard that the tower is located 688 metres from the hostel.

The prosecutor further pointed to Standard Bank statements belonging to accused number one, Muzi Sibiya, which he said showed that Sibiya resided at the hostel.

The defence, however, pushed back, with Advocate Sipho Ramosepele, accusing Sibanda of cross-examining Mncube on incorrect propositions.

In another tense exchange, Mncube challenged the State’s reliance on cellphone metadata, telling Sibanda there was nothing the prosecution could present about the records that he would take seriously.

The State is examining more than 400 images it says were retrieved from Mncube’s memory card.

Some reportedly depict him sporting dreadlocks, while others show individuals linked to the trial, including Mapisa.

Prosecutors are attempting to demonstrate that the five accused knew one another and spent time together around the period of Meyiwa’s murder.

The State has suggested that some of the images under discussion were taken within minutes of one another, while acknowledging that some may have originated from Mncube’s memory card and others may have been sent to him.

Mncube responded by telling Sibanda that he is not a cellphone metadata expert, challenging the basis of the prosecutor’s questioning.

“There’s nothing that you can say to me that I would hear clearly from what is written here. Something of this nature, you know nothing about it. You cannot tell me anything about it, there is no expert that came here to testify about this. Even the photos you are referring me to, no one said anything or testified about them. You are the one showing me these photos for the first time,” said Mncube.

Although Mncube has not denied having dreadlocks in 2014, he has strongly rejected the allegation that he was the so-called “dreadlock man” who pulled the trigger that killed Meyiwa.

His version remains that he was in Johannesburg with his late friend, Ntuli.

With photographs and cellphone records now central to the State’s challenge, the dispute over where Mncube was and when continues.