“The state is not telling this court the truth, that they need time to investigate and to compile all the necessary records that they are supposed to be supplying to the defence so we can consult properly,” she said.
Mshololo said this is interfering with the defence's case.
“The witness is called to the witness box to proceed with this trial, whereas we are being supplied with information relevant to this witness this morning.
“This makes it difficult for us to formulate our defence.
“The supply of documents piecemeal is affecting the whole process. Today we are given this, tomorrow we are given that and tomorrow we will be surprised to receive other documents,” she said.
The lawyer for Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, agreed, saying: “Whatever information that comes after the full disclosure, after the trial has commenced, is ambush.”
Baloyi countered that the documents the prosecution was supplying now were hard copies of those supplied to the defence teams last year.
The trial has been postponed to May 13.
TimesLIVE
LISTEN | 'Trial by ambush', defence in Meyiwa murder trial cries to court
The defence in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has alleged the state is conducting the trial by ambush by not timeously sharing documentation, but the prosecution says this is a ploy as the evidence they referred to was disclosed electronically last year.
The defence expressed concern to the Pretoria high court on Thursday about the introduction of documents and additional evidence by the state during proceedings.
On Tuesday, the matter was postponed for the state to supply the defence with documents including affidavits and bank statements. When the matter resumed in the Pretoria high court on Thursday, the trial was expected to get under way with cellphone expert Gideon Gouws back on the stand. However, the defence lawyer representing Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli, advocate Zandile Mshololo, said she had received incomplete documents from the state on Tuesday and more information on Wednesday night.
She said she consulted with her client on the information she received on Tuesday but could not consult on the additional information she received overnight as she had not had time to read the documents.
“This is a trial by ambush. Yesterday (Wednesday) I had all day to consult with my client on all the documents the state is preparing or anticipating to use. However, the documents were not supplied to me, especially the affidavits which were marked by state prosecutor George Baloyi.
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“The state is not telling this court the truth, that they need time to investigate and to compile all the necessary records that they are supposed to be supplying to the defence so we can consult properly,” she said.
Mshololo said this is interfering with the defence's case.
“The witness is called to the witness box to proceed with this trial, whereas we are being supplied with information relevant to this witness this morning.
“This makes it difficult for us to formulate our defence.
“The supply of documents piecemeal is affecting the whole process. Today we are given this, tomorrow we are given that and tomorrow we will be surprised to receive other documents,” she said.
The lawyer for Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu, agreed, saying: “Whatever information that comes after the full disclosure, after the trial has commenced, is ambush.”
Baloyi countered that the documents the prosecution was supplying now were hard copies of those supplied to the defence teams last year.
The trial has been postponed to May 13.
TimesLIVE
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