Senzo Meyiwa trial: Accused No.1 tells court about ‘painful’ journey from Joburg to KZN in cuffs

Accused number one in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Muzi Sibiya, has told the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that he was subjected to “torture” by police officers who kept him in handcuffs for the entire journey from Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal. Sibiya, who is currently under cross-examination, described the ordeal as inhumane and degrading.

Sibiya and his four co-accused — Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli — are standing trial for the 2014 murder of former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot dead at the home of his then-girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus.

Under questioning, Sibiya said the continuous use of handcuffs was part of an ongoing campaign to “break him down” and force him to confess to a crime he insists he did not commit. He claimed that police officers ignored his complaints during the trip and subjected him to various forms of intimidation and physical discomfort.

“The entire journey I was handcuffed. I couldn’t eat properly, I couldn’t rest. It was torture,” Sibiya told the court.This latest testimony adds to a series of allegations of police brutality and procedural misconduct that have dogged the high-profile trial. Defence lawyers have repeatedly argued that confessions obtained from the accused were coerced under duress.

State prosecutor George Baloyi, however, maintains that the evidence against the accused remains strong and that the confessions were lawfully obtained.The trial, now entering a crucial phase of cross-examination, continues to capture national attention as the Meyiwa family and the public await justice more than a decade after the beloved goalkeeper’s death.

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