Data from iPhone belonging to Senzo Meyiwa 'could not be downloaded'

Former police captain Elphus Mushwana, who downloaded data from the cellphones of people who were in the Vosloorus house when Senzo Meyiwa was fatally shot, says he did not check if data was deleted from the devices.

Mushwana said he was tasked with downloading data from the cellphones. His mandate also included checking if there was any deleted information. However, he told the court he did not check if any data was deleted, including from Kelly Khumalo's phone.

He said he received the phones on the day after the killing and handed over the downloads the next day to another police officer.

“I didn't [check],” he told the Pretoria high court on Friday. 

“There was a bit of a transition. There was a new investigation team that was established. The exhibit was handed [over]. I did not have enough time to peruse the data.”

Cellphone analyst Col Lambertus Steyn previously testified that when tracking the activity on Khumalo's phone, he found a “device boot-up” had occurred at about 1.31am, or several hours after the murder.

He said that might mean the owner deleted all the information or some information on the phone. This could also be done remotely.

Meyiwa was shot dead on October 26 2014 in his then-girlfriend Khumalo's presence at her mother's home in Vosloorus. Also present were her sister Zandile, Zandile's then-boyfriend Longwe Twala and the women's mother Ntombi. Two of Meyiwa's friends from KwaZulu-Natal, Tumelo Madlala and Mthokozisi Thwala, were on a visit to Gauteng.

Five men are on trial for the murder: Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli.

Mushwana said he downloaded cellphone data on a Samsung S3, two Apple iPhones, a ZTE V795, a Nokia N8 and a Blackberry Curve.

He said he received the devices from Lt-Col Andre Neethling in sealed forensic bags on October 27 2014.

He could not download data from the iPhone belonging to Meyiwa.

“The Apple phone could not be downloaded because the PIN was active and not provided because it belonged to the deceased,” he said.

Data from the Nokia N8 phone belonging to Zandile also could not be downloaded as the software was not compatible with his data extraction program. However, he said he was able to extract data from the Sim card.

Mushwana said Madlala and Longwe Twala had provided the PINs for their cellphones.

Under cross-examination by the defence, he was asked by advocate Charles Mnisi why forensic bags need to be sealed and only broken when handed over to analysts. Mushwana said this is done to preserve the originality of the exhibits.

Advocate Zandile Mshololo probed whether it was procedurally correct to mix the exhibits in the same bag. This was after Mushwana testified that one forensic bag had four devices. In response, Mushwana said it depended on the availability of exhibit bags at the time, adding cellphones can be stored together.

Mshololo also asked if it would have been possible for him to download data from Kelly Khumalos's phone, which was allegedly stolen, without the device in hand. He said it was not possible.

Sgt Petrus Mduduzi Nkosi, attached to the provincial operation command centre previously known as the Gauteng provincial war room, was next to take the stand on Friday.

Nkosi confirmed he was the one who downloaded data from the phone belonging to Mncube in a separate matter in Cleveland, where he was charged with the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Possible damning pictures downloaded from the phone have already been shown in court. A rifle, 9mm pistols, ammunition, an axe, a panga and a lot of money are among the pictures downloaded from Mncube's phone.

Nkosi told the court he received a request in February 2015 from a Sgt Masondo to download the data from a Samsung GTE 2220.

None of the defence counsel cross-examined Nkosi.

The matter will continue on Monday with a new witness expected to take the stand.

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