The alibi of one of the men accused of the murder of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa has been dealt another blow.
The state presented bank statements of Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya to the Pretoria high court on Thursday revealing that the accused was in Gauteng at the time of the murder of the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, contradicting his version.
Sibiya said he had left Gauteng and was in KwaZulu-Natal from 2013 to 2015.
On Friday, proceedings got off to a rocky start as Sibiya’s lawyer, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, was absent.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo told the court that she received a call from Mngomezulu asking her for assistance.
“He said I must apologise on his behalf that he is sick, he had to go to the doctor and asked that I stand in for him and he will do his cross-examination when he comes back,” she said.
A letter was also sent in the morning to the registrar. “Kindly be advised that Mr Mngomezulu is not well and will be consulting a doctor, as such he will not be able to make it for today's session. Please note that Mr Mngomezulu relates the message as follows: that the proceedings may proceed in his absence as advocate Mshololo will stand in for him.”
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng was displeased that he did not receive direct communication from Mngomezulu.
“When I say some advocates don't respect judges, people think I am just being impossible. I made remarks in front of Mr Mngomezulu that you communicate with the judge personally, you don't communicate via a secretary, because now he is telling us he will cross-examine when he comes back in court and he knows the procedure,” he said.
Mngomezulu indicated on Thursday that he will challenge the bank records.
Other defence lawyers did not challenge the records.
The matter has been postponed to Monday for the continuation of the trial.
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Lawyer absent after client's alibi dealt a blow in Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
Irritated judge unhappy with letter about illness
Image: Thulani Mbele
The alibi of one of the men accused of the murder of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa has been dealt another blow.
The state presented bank statements of Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya to the Pretoria high court on Thursday revealing that the accused was in Gauteng at the time of the murder of the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, contradicting his version.
Sibiya said he had left Gauteng and was in KwaZulu-Natal from 2013 to 2015.
On Friday, proceedings got off to a rocky start as Sibiya’s lawyer, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, was absent.
Advocate Zandile Mshololo told the court that she received a call from Mngomezulu asking her for assistance.
“He said I must apologise on his behalf that he is sick, he had to go to the doctor and asked that I stand in for him and he will do his cross-examination when he comes back,” she said.
A letter was also sent in the morning to the registrar. “Kindly be advised that Mr Mngomezulu is not well and will be consulting a doctor, as such he will not be able to make it for today's session. Please note that Mr Mngomezulu relates the message as follows: that the proceedings may proceed in his absence as advocate Mshololo will stand in for him.”
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng was displeased that he did not receive direct communication from Mngomezulu.
“When I say some advocates don't respect judges, people think I am just being impossible. I made remarks in front of Mr Mngomezulu that you communicate with the judge personally, you don't communicate via a secretary, because now he is telling us he will cross-examine when he comes back in court and he knows the procedure,” he said.
Mngomezulu indicated on Thursday that he will challenge the bank records.
Other defence lawyers did not challenge the records.
The matter has been postponed to Monday for the continuation of the trial.
TimesLIVE
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