Pretoria - The past nine years following the death of Senzo Meyiwa were no joke and no one knows how difficult life has been for the occupants who were inside the house the night the soccer player was shot and killed.
This was according to the Orlando Pirates player’s childhood friend Mthokozisi Thwala who was still facing tough cross-examination by the legal counsel of the five men currently on trial in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria for the murder of Meyiwa.
During the cross-examination by advocate Zithulele Nxumalo who is representing the fourth accused, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, Thwala questioned why he was being chastised for laughing alongside the court gallery following a comment made.
He told the legal counsel that everyone made mistakes and why everyone else was laughing in court yet he was being singled out.
Thwala then told the court that he did not think the trial was a joke and in fact the past nine years since the incident happened on October 26 2014 had been very difficult for him.
"I don't think this is a joke. No one has any idea how difficult or what we've been through in the past nine years since this whole thing happened."
Thwala further proceeded to tell the defence that he would not testify to what he did not remember as it would come back to bite him in the end.
Advocate Nxumalo who began his cross-examination today after advocate Charles Mnisi concluded his cross-examination earlier on also took to highlighting the discrepancies in the various statements made by Thwala following the killing of Meyiwa.
In his own defence, Thwala said although he had voluntarily made one of the statements less than 24 hours after the shooting of Meyiwa, he was assured by the police that he was free to come and rectify the statement should he remember anything else.
He said the reason being that the incident happened quickly, with everyone in the house being left shocked and scared.
The trial continues.
Pretoria News