The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial is set to resume on 17 July with a new judge after the suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the presiding judge Tshifhiwa Maumela last week.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Ramaphosa suspends Senzo Meyiwa murder trial judge over alleged excessive judgment delays

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was due to announce the appointment of Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng to preside over the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial on Tuesday, with NPA spokesperson in Gauteng Lumka Mahanjana saying a statement would be issued.

However, more than 24 hours later, no statement has been released, though the appointment has been widely reported.

Two sources close to the trial and to Meyiwa’s family confirmed Mokgoatlheng’s appointment to Daily Maverick.   

Legal expert JP Venter warned that the trial will need to start de novo. This essentially means that all four witnesses that have given evidence might have to be recalled to give evidence afresh before the new presiding judge. 

Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng

Mokgoatlheng has high-profile trials under his belt, including the imprisonment of the once-powerful head of Crime Intelligence, Richard Mdluli for kidnapping, assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, to his customary wife and her partner.  Mokgoatlheng also slapped the killer of heavily pregnant Soweto woman, Tshegofatso Pule, with a 20-year jail term.  

Read more in Daily Maverick: Convicted killer Muzikayise Malephane provides a possible motive for why Tshegofasto Pule was murdered 

Meyiwa’s brother, Sifiso said the family welcomed his appointment. “We were informed that he is taking over on Monday. Yes, there have been several delays but we are confident that justice will be served because this new judge is credible, he doesn’t take nonsense.” 

Mokgoatlheng’s appointment would come barely a week after President Cyril Ramaphosa slapped the previous judge in the matter, Tshifhiwa Maumela with a suspension, for misconduct for not delivering judgments within a reasonable period.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Ramaphosa suspends Senzo Meyiwa murder trial judge over alleged excessive judgment delays 

Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela 

Last week Thursday Ramaphosa said the suspension was to allow the Judicial Conduct Tribunal to investigate suspected misconduct regarding alleged excessive delays by the judges in handing down a significant number of judgments.       

Daily Maverick previously reported that complaints against Maumela were beyond the time limits prescribed by the judicial norms and standards and that judgments, save for exceptional cases, must be handed down within three months. Complaints against Maumela involved 12 judgments which had been outstanding from 24 to 26 months. 

Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela in the Pretoria high court during the murder trial of Senzo Meyiwa, on 12 July 2022, Pretoria. (Photo: Supplied)

Read more in Daily Maverick: Judicial Conduct Committee split over action against two judges 

Despite the suspension, it was understood that Maumela would still preside over current matters including the Meyiwa trial, however, would not take new matters, as is usually the case. 

Advocate Gerrie Nel of Afriforum said the removal of Maumela from the trial was unfortunate as it meant the trial would start afresh, adding he hoped both the state and defence would finally get their act together. 

“We hope that the prosecution will focus on relevant evidence to link the accused to the commission of the offence. The defence seems to be one of total denial and we hope the prosecution will focus on identification of the perpetrators and other relevant circumstantial evidence linking the accused to the murder.”  

Bleeding for eight years    

As the news of Makgoathleng’s appointment emerged, one of the state witnesses — Zandile Khumalo, who was inside the Vosloorus home of her sister Kelly Khumalo (the then-girlfriend of Meyiwa) where Meyiwa was killed — wrote to Ramaphosa on Wednesday pleading for the trial to be prioritised. She said her family and that of Meyiwa had been bleeding since the tragic night of the shooting. 

“I would like to request a serious prioritasation of the Senzo Meyiwa case moving forward. My biggest wish would be to try and put a bit of pace to the proceedings of this case. 

“I would like for the sake of the families who haven’t found closure after so long to request that one court is earmarked specifically for this case, a specific law team is also appointed to deal with nothing else but this case and for this case to be in court Monday to Friday up until it is concluded and a verdict is given,” Khumalo wrote.  

She also commended the President for swiftly suspending Maumela following the JSC request. Khumalo indicated the letter was directed to presidency spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya, who could not be reached for comment at the time of publication. 

Timeline of Meyiwa trial 

Meyiwa was gunned down in October 2014 in what the State believes was a botched robbery and the defence has disputed the presence of any intruders at all. At the time of his death, there was a huge public outcry over the SAPS’s inability to immediately make arrests in connection with the murder.   

Meyiwa’s father, Sam, was known for publicly voicing his dissatisfaction with the investigation and pleading for his son’s killers to be brought to book. Sam passed away in 2019 after suffering a second stroke. Sam’s death came five years after his son’s death, which his family said he had been battling to deal with.

Six years after Meyiwa’s death, in October 2020, police finally announced a break-through with the arrest of five men believed to have been involved in the killing. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Senzo Meyiwa murder: Forensic evidence links 5 arrested suspects, says Bheki Cele  

The accused are: Fisokuhle Ntuli, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube and Mthokoziseni Maphisa. They are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, possession of firearms without a licence and the possession of ammunition.

The trial only commenced in April 2022 — nearly two years after the suspects were arrested. Since then, there have been a number of delays in the trial, from changes in legal representation, challenges with state witnesses, and Maumela’s ill health prior to his suspension. 

The five men – Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli – accused of the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, appear in the North Gauteng high court on November 16, 2022 in Pretoria. (Photo: Gallo Images/OJ Koloti)

Read more in Daily Maverick: Senzo Meyiwa’s family distraught after postponement of murder trial due to judge’s ill health 

Meyiwa’s sister, Nomalanga broke down in tears as she was visibly distraught following the announcement of Maumela’s ill health and the possibility of a new judge taking over the matter.  

“What did Senzo do for him not to get justice 10 years later?”  

“I don’t know if the people in the process of this trial even think Senzo has a mother who gets heartbroken each time there is a postponement.”

Advocate Zandile Mshololo at the North Gauteng high court during the Senzo Meyiwa murder case on 9 September, 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa. The Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper and captain was shot dead at his then-girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus in 2014. (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)

Witnesses’s testimonies 

The Pretoria high court has so far heard from four state witnesses on what transpired on the fateful day in 2014. The first witness was Sergeant Thabo Mosia who spent three weeks on the stand. Mosia told the court he didn’t take gunshot residue tests from the people who were in the house when the alleged robbery occurred because he didn’t consider them to be suspects.  

Read more in Daily Maverick: Senzo Meyiwa murder: Is this a case of police incompetence? Experts weigh in 

The second witness was Meyiwa’s childhood friend Tumelo Madlala. His testimony as the first direct witness at the scene was expected to shed light on the details of Meyiwa’s death, but it raised more questions than answers as he could not even confirm the number of gunshots fired. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Senzo Meyiwa’s best friend tells high court how fatal shooting unfolded 

The third state witness was another childhood friend of Meyiwa who was inside the Khumalo home when the shooting occurred, Mthokozisi Thwala. He was accused of having selective amnesia by defence as he evaded answering some questions, particularly those that related to statements provided to police by other eyewitnesses. He was unable to describe the gun and sharp object the intruders had. 

Zandile Khumalo was the last state witness to have taken the stand when the trial adjourned due to Maumela’s ill health. During her testimony, Khumalo said she sought justice for her sister’s lover. 10 months ago, Khumalo, said she would not be able to identify suspects who shot and killed Meyiwa, however when she took to the stand, she had a change of heart as she pointed to accused number two, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, as Meyiwa’s killer. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Zandie Khumalo’s U-turn on the stand – can now ID suspect as an intruder on day of killing   

Who killed Senzo Meyiwa? 

Despite hearing evidence from the four witnesses, none of them answered the most pressing questions: who killed Meyiwa? Was he killed in a robbery gone wrong or was it a cold-blooded murder? And In a house full of valuables, why did they only steal one phone, as alleged by those who were inside the house? DM