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A ballistic expert in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has told the court that the gun that he positively linked in the Alexandra case related to taxi violence, in which accused 3 Mthobisi Mncube was convicted and sentenced, is the same gun Lieutenant Colonel Christian Mangena says is linked to the Senzo Meyiwa murder.
Warrant Officer Cornelius Roelofse, a ballistic officer with 22 years of experience, took the witness stand on Friday morning after the defence on Thursday asked that Mangena’s cross-examination be postponed allowing them time to consult their own ballistic expert.
Judge: Mr Mnisi, what should the court do when you elicit information about the Alex case?
Roelofse: That is the firearm that matches 9 cartridges cases from the Alex case crime scene.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) September 1, 2023
Mnisi says that is not in dispute.
Judge: Mangena says that is the firearm he tested in this case.
Judge to Mnisi: I see you are smiling!
Roelofse: Yes, that is the firearm I tested in the in Alex case.
Mnisi: I certainly don’t have a problem with that sir. That is not in dispute. #SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwatrial
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) September 1, 2023
Roelofse has also told the court that the bullet that was found on the scene has a thicker cartridge case that would not have fitted into a 38 Special Revolver, dispelling the version that the fatal shot could have come from such a firearm.
According to Meyiwa’s childhood friend, Tumelo Madlala, the alleged gun-wielding intruder who walked in first followed by the taller intruder who wore a hoodie, had carried a gun which had a wheel, which prompted the police to deduce it could have been a Revolver.
This belief was further strengthened when the police could not find any cartridge cases on the scene because a Revolver does not eject cartridges when it is fired.
Ramosepele: Can a Revolver use a 9 mm cartridge?
Roelofse: Which Revolver?
Ramosepele: 38 Special.
Roelofse: No, my lord, because a 9 mm cartridge is thicker and wouldn’t fit in the 38 Special Revolver.
However, the gun that Mangena linked to Meyiwa’s murder is a CZ 75 9 mm pistol, which was found in accused 3’s room when he was arrested in 2015.
The defence has previously contended that the guns could have been switched in the exhibit store to pin the Vosloorus crime on the five accused in the dock.
Roelofse says this is the same firearm he tested in February 2015 following the arrest and positively linked to the Alex matter. He confirmed the seal number when he put gun into the exhibit bag is the same seal bag number Mangena noted on receipt of the exhibit, which he says means the gun is the same.
Roelofse says while he has never been involved in the murder case of the former Bafana Bafana captain, Mangena’s evidence about the bullet remaining intact after hitting the door and falling on the kitchen countertop makes sense.
He says the damage on the kitchen door resembles a bullet mark.
“I was not on the scene but I think the energy of the bullet would have been lost as it went through the victim’s body. There is a chance the bullet might still be in good condition because it would have lost energy. My lord, going through the body could cause the bullet to start stumbling.”
Earlier this week, Mangena told the court that the late keeper had his back to the kitchen door but was not in contact with it when a loose contact shot went off, fired in downward trajectory piercing his chest and exiting on his back. He says the damage on the kitchen door were consistent with characteristics of an unstable bullet which could have lost its stability as it perforated Meyiwa’s body.
Roelofse says this makes sense.
He, however, could not explain why two cartridge cases were not found at the crime scene on the back of Mangena’s testimony that two shots were fired inside the house at Kelly Khumalo’s home during the scuffle in the kitchen.
Asked why cartridges may not be found on a crime scene, Roelofse says there is a possibility that a cartridge could be stuck in the firearm but “if there were two shots, I cannot know say what could have happened to the other cartridge”.#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) September 1, 2023
Mangena told the court that there were reasons why cartridge cases were not found, which included a cartridge being stuck inside the firearm or landing on the clothes of the people who were involved in that scuffle.
Baloyi: My lord, that is actually the opposite of what he said. My lord, they would not cross-examine Mr Mangena but they are not cross-examining this witness on Mangena’s evidence.
Roelofse: My lord, can I say something?#SABCNews #SenzoMeyiwaTrial #SenzoMeyiwa
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) September 1, 2023