Senzo Meyiwa trial focuses on alleged intruder's gold tooth
Gininda testified that he had made attempts during the investigation to access Mncube's medical records from the correctional facility to establish whether he had a gold tooth when he was admitted. However, the records were never located.
He said that it came to his attention that gold teeth are not always surgically fitted and can also be worn as removable grills.
This is after a picture depicting Mncube was beamed in court and Gininda described that in the picture Mncube appears to be smiling with a shiny object on his upper teeth resembling gold.
Some of the occupants in the house had said one of the intruders in the Vosloorus home when Meyiwa was murdered had a gold tooth.
Meyiwa was with his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo at her mother's house in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, and they were relaxing over lunch and watching a soccer match with Kelly's sister Zandile, Zandile's then-boyfriend Twala, and two of Meyiwa's friends who were visiting from KwaZulu-Natal.
The occupants of the house told police that two robbers entered, demanding cash and cellphones, before Meyiwa was shot in a scuffle with one of the intruders.
Mncube, Bongani Ntanzi, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa's murder in October 2014.
They face charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.
On Thursday, Gininda also told the court that Twala was not a person of interest in the murder of the soccer star.
This as advocate Charles Mnisi, representing Sibiya and Mncube, asked about the picture of bag of money found on Mncube, Twala and Kelly Khumalo's phones.
He had testified that a similar picture depicting a bag of money was found on their phones.
'You cannot focus on a person as a person of interest solely because of one bag or one piece of evidence. When it comes to Miss Kelly Khumalo, and I've testified about this, there are number of things that came up that seem to point to her as being the trigger point, and that is why I then said she was then viewed, in so far as the investigation is concerned, as a person of interest and subsequent application for the J50.'
Gininda previously testified that it had come up that Twala might have been the shooter, but he had to look at certain facts in the docket that led him to his conclusion that there were intruders.

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TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- TimesLIVE
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Three of the four lawyers representing the men accused of murdering Senzo Meyiwa plan to proceed with their discharge applications, despite Legal Aid South Africa declining to fund their preparation for the applications. Four of the five accused indicated to the Pretoria high court they wished to apply for their discharge after the state closed its case in July, as they believed the state had failed to present a strong case. Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that if, at the close of the state's case and the court is of the opinion there is no evidence the accused committed the offence of which they may be convicted on the charge, the court may return a verdict of not guilty. The lawyers for the accused, who are receiving instructions from Legal Aid South Africa, had been waiting to hear if they would be compensated for their work in preparation for the section 174 applications. Meyiwa was shot dead in the presence of his then girlfriend Kelly Khumalo at her mother's home in Vosloorus in October 2014. Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa's murder. They have pleaded not guilty. When proceedings got under way on Thursday, the Pretoria high court heard from a Legal Aid South Africa official that the entity was 'not amenable' to funding the lawyers' preparations for the discharge applications. 'The (Legal Aid South Africa's) constitutional committee said that they are of the view that to pay an additional four weeks to prepare for a section 174, they weren't amenable to that,' said the official. She said when Legal Aid assumed the mandate to fund the accused, they undertook to fund them through the whole process. However, she said, when deliberating the issue of the section 174 application, the question that came before the constitutional case management committee was whether they would fund a four-week preparation for a section 174 application. 'A decision was made that they won't fund it. We won't stop them from doing a 174, because that is part of the Criminal Procedure Act,' she said. Advocate Charles Mnisi, representing Sibiya and Mncube, had indicated that four weeks was the amount of time he would need to prepare. He said it would be a challenge for him to prepare for the application without any reimbursement. 'I don't think I'll be in a position to do that. I've already done that since January. I've read almost 40,000 pages and I don't want to get there, but I don't think I'll be in a position to do that for the second time again,' he said. Mnisi, however, informed the court that Sibiya and Mncube's instructions were that they still wished to bring the section 174 application. 'The challenge is, who is going to finance it?' he said. Defence lawyer for Ntanzi, Sipho Ramosepele, though faced with the same challenge, refused to dwell deeply on the financing challenges and informed the court he would proceed with the application on behalf of Ntanzi. Ntanzi said Legal Aid had indicated that the defence stood a slim chance of succeeding in the section 174 application. 'That's what they've just told our clients — that we don't have a leg to stand on in the 174 application,' he said. Advocate Zithulele Nxumalo, for Maphisa, said that though Legal Aid had declined to fund the preparations for the application, he would continue as he had already begun preparing and drafting the application. Advocate Zandile Mshololo, for Ntuli, declined to bring a discharge application and said she was ready to present Ntuli's defence. The court ordered that the heads of arguments in the discharge applications must be filed on August 15, the responses, if any, on August 22 and that arguments will be on August 25. TimesLIVE

TimesLIVE
5 days ago
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Broken evidence chain, contradictions may aid Meyiwa defence in Section 174 bid: experts
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IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
Kelly Khumalo's tight concert security raises eyebrows amid allegations by former Meyiwa trial advocate
Amid ongoing allegations in the Senzo Meyiwa case, Kelly Khumalo's heightened security at Dundee July raises eyebrows and concerns among fans. Image: Instagram Singer Kelly Khumalo's security beef-up leaves netizens wondering what's happening. The songstress was recently seen performing at the Dundee July event in KwaZulu-Natal, where her bodyguard was keeping a close eye on her. Khumalo has never shied away from controversy, including her connection to the unclear death of former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, and her self-proclaimed role as a healer. Recently, the songstress, known for her powerful vocals and captivating stage presence, was seen performing one of her gospel hits, 'Esphambanweni', with a male figure dressed in all black keeping a close eye on her. An unseen attendee threw a can of alcohol at her while she was performing, and her bodyguard reacted swiftly by kicking the can off stage before Khumalo could step on it. While some fans assumed the added security measure was due to concerns about her safety after new claims made by Advocate Malesela Teffo, a former trial defence advocate for the Meyiwa murder case. Khumalo's history with controversy, including her connection to the tragic death of former Meyiwa, has kept her in the limelight for quite some years. This incident has also had a lasting impact on her career. The circumstances surrounding Meyiwa's death, which occurred at Khumalo's Vosloorus home with the singer present, led to widespread speculation and many people questioning her involvement. Additionally, the security beef-up comes after Teffo went on a podcast tour to reveal some eyebrow-raising details about Khumalo's involvement in Meyiwa's death. He was recently a guest on Mac G's Podcast and Chill show, as well as the Moya podcast, where he touched on her alleged involvement in the murder. Teffo made shocking claims about Khumalo on the Podcast and Chill show, alleging that the singer shot and killed Meyiwa, with whom she also shares a child. Meyiwa was murdered at Khumalo's home in 2014, in an incident initially thought to be a botched robbery. However, Teffo disputed this narrative during a podcast interview. 'If they say it was a robbery gone wrong, how can that be when the people coming to rob you have an intention? If they shoot, you can't say it was culpable homicide. If they shoot to kill, the result can't be culpable murder; it would be murder,' he said. Khumalo has been linked to Meyiwa's murder case multiple times, and Advocate Teffo's recent allegations on Podcast and Chill have reignited speculation around her involvement. Since then, she has come out to defend herself multiple times, debunking the allegations as baseless. The singer came out once again to address Tefo in response to all the claims he made about her during his podcast tour revelations. Khumalo posted a video on Instagram, citing that she's not intimidated by anyone and challenged those who think she's guilty to take action against her or 'back off'. The singer captioned the video: 'From being dragged in that dirty court to sketchy podcasts? You never cease to amaze me. It's quite simple, though. If you strongly believe that I am capable of what you are accusing me of, come and get me and stop playing games! Till then, back off.'