Senzo Meyiwa trial | Witness claims police set him up in the murder case

The defence witness in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Sifiso ‘Gwabini’ Zungu, has accused police of planting ammunition under his mattress during his arrest in June 2020.

Gwabini testified at the Pretoria High Court on Monday, saying he was taken into custody in connection with the 2014 killing of the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, who was fatally shot in Vosloorus while visiting his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo.

He claims the state’s key witness, Constable Sizwe Zungu, falsely implicated him. Gwabini says he was arrested shortly after returning to his Vosloorus home from Mahlabathini.

Days earlier, his brother — accused number one, Muzi Sibiya — had called to warn him that unknown people were at his Vosloorus home asking questions. The call abruptly cut off, and Gwabini was unable to reach him again.

On the night he returned, police forcefully entered his room while he was asleep, handcuffed him while he was naked, and planted a gun under his mattress.

“They then instructed me to move away from the bed because I was right next to the bed. They instructed me to move away because they wanted to search. They then said ‘here is what we were looking for’ pointing to the gun. I told Maphumlo that even if he assaults me, he was wrong because that gun was put there by him. I can’t just come back home after being called by Sibiya and then get arrested, not knowing what I am being arrested for,” Gwabini said.

Gwabini further claims that officers confiscated a watch they said belonged to Meyiwa and assaulted him during the raid.

He rejected Zungu’s claim that he had contacted the officer on the morning of Meyiwa’s murder.

“I never crossed paths with Zungu in 2014. The first time I spoke to him was in 2017, and I was even surprised,” he said.

The court heard that Zungu claimed Gwabini had directed him to the Basotho Hostel, where the five men accused of Meyiwa’s murder allegedly lived. Gwabini denied these claims, saying he only became aware of Zungu three years later.

Gwabini described his first encounter with Zungu in 2017 at a Gold Spot outlet in Vosloorus. Zungu was accompanied by a man named Makhosonke and accused number one, Muzi Sibiya. According to Gwabeni, Sibiya directed Zungu and his companion to his home, and they arrived carrying cans of alcohol. He also said Zungu was driving a state vehicle during the visit.

He says this was the last time he saw Zungu until 2019, directly contradicting the constable’s claims that placed him with the accused on the day Meyiwa was killed.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao