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Accused number two in the Senzo Meyiwa trial Bongani Ntanzi at the High Court in Pretoria on May 18, 2926.
The new witness in the Senzo Meyiwa trial, Colonel Bhutomncane Khumalo, has disputed claims that accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, was a suspect in a 2018 murder case in KwaNongoma, KwaZulu-Natal.
Ntanzi was informed about the KwaNongoma case at the time of his arrest in June 2020.
However, he has only appeared in court in relation to the Meyiwa murder case.
Khumalo has been called to testify in the High Court in Pretoria and shed light on the KwaNongoma matter and its significance to the State’s case against Ntanzi.
One of the Senzo Meyiwa murder investigators, Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane, testified previously that he arrested accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, in connection with a murder case in KwaZulu-Natal.
That testimony came under intense scrutiny on Tuesday.
“This one that Mogane referred to does not appear anywhere in the SAPS system. Let’s not be shy about saying this. Let’s not protect the evidence, my lord. It does not exist, my lord,” says Zandile Mshololo, defence attorney Advocate.
Defence Counsel Sipho Ramosepele called a new witness to challenge evidence linking Bongani Ntanzi to other criminal investigations. Ramosepele argued that several police officers had previously testified that Ntanzi was linked to more than four murder cases recorded on the SAPS database. However, he said no documentary evidence had been presented to support those claims.
“I’m going to quote his words here, Sergeant Mogane. He says when he arrested Bongani Ntanzi, he told him, and I quote, ‘We are arresting him regarding the Nongoma case and that he was a suspect in a murder case in Nongoma where a firearm was found.’ Does this accord with your understanding of your investigation of Nongoma case 163 of 10, 2018? That is a murder case where a firearm was found,” says Ramosepele.
“My Lord, this is not a murder case. In this case, it is possession of a firearm, and there is no suspect by the surname Ntanzi. It is only Buthelezi,” says Khumalo.
Khumalo testified that the only case registered under Nongoma case number 163 of 10, 2018, is a possession of a firearm case.
“Lieutenant Colonel, on what basis are you saying that the Nongoma murder case, case 163 of 10, 2018, does not exist?” Mnisi asks.
“If one goes to the system and enters Nongoma case 163 of 10, the system will show only one case, which is possession of a firearm, and no other case under 163 of 10,” Khumalo explains.
Khumalo further told the court about the reliability of the SAPS case management system, saying it cannot allocate the same case number to different matters.
“Now this says to me there could have been some problem with the duplication made by the system. The question is, how reliable is this system? Mnisi asks.
“My lord, from my experience, the system cannot allocate the same case number to different matters or different cases,” says Khumalo.
Khumalo is expected to continue with his testimony when the trial resumes on Wednesday.
Video: Senzo Meyiwa Murder Trial | 02 June 2026
