Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela. Image: Thulani Mbele
BREAKING: Senzo Meyiwa murder trial postponed to 17 July
The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has been postponed to 17 July 2023 as Presiding Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela is ill.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela. Image: Thulani Mbele
The trial of the five men accused of killing Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has been postponed to 17 July 2023.
The matter was scheduled to sit from Monday, 12 June to Thursday, 15 June and will no longer proceed as Presiding Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela was not available due to ill health
ANOTHER DELAY IN THE SENZO MEYIWA MURDER TRIAL
Singer Zandie Khumalo was expected to continue with her testimony on Monday, 12 June.
Deputy Judge President, Aubrey Ledwaba said Maumela will not be available for a long time due to health reasons but the matter needs to proceed.
Ledwaba said the matter is postponed to 17 July and is likely to take the whole third term (15 September)
ALSO READ: ‘Special witness’: Defence lawyers slam request for broadcast ban in Meyiwa trial
Meyiwa was shot dead on 26 October 2014 at the home of his then girlfriend Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus, Gauteng.
Meyiwa’s close friends Mthokozisi Thwala, Tumelo Madlala as well as Longwe Twala, singer Kelly Khumalo, her mother Ntombi Gladness Khumalo, her sister Zandie Khumalo and her two children Christian and Thingo were present when the goal keeper was shot.
Five men are on trial for the murder of the soccer star, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli. They face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition. All five men pleaded not guilty.
JSC RECOMMENDS SUSPENSION OF TWO JUDGES
In April this year, the Judicial Service Commission recommended to President Ramaphosa that he suspend two judges, Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela and Judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi, immediately pending the outcome of a Judicial Conduct Tribunal hearing. The judges failed to deliver their judgments timeously.
Both complaints were laid by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, the head of their court: the Gauteng (Pretoria and Johannesburg) division but not all those who sat on the JSC committee recommended suspension.
ALSO READ: JSC split over suspension of two judges
