Monday’s proceedings in the Senzo Meyiwa trial focused on accused number three, Mthobisi Mncube, after the State called his former landlord and the woman he was dating at the time.
Mncube is one of the five men who have been arrested for allegedly killing the former Bafana Bafana captain in October 2014.
The State called Kagiso Tefo, who dated Mncube in 2015.
She said she met Mncube in early January 2015, and shortly after meeting, they moved in together in Malvern, Johannesburg.
"When I met him, I was looking for accommodation in Johannesburg so I can be closer to my work place. He suggested that we both look for a common place and we live together," she said.
She said Mncube found the place, they went together to view it, he paid rent, and they moved in.
According to her testimony, they didn’t stay together for long before Mncube was arrested in February, almost two weeks after moving in.
On the day of the arrest, she said she was coming back from work in the afternoon. She had asked Mncube to wait for her at the bus stop to help her carry some plastic bags.
"I found him waiting for me as I had been travelling by taxi. He then took one plastic because he had an injury in one arm. We didn’t live far from the bus stop; we were on the second street, and then we walked home.
"As we were walking, a police car came speeding behind us and stopped next to us," she said.
She said the three police officers, two men and a woman, got out of the car and pointed their firearms at Mncube.
When she tried to move, she was told not to go anywhere and to put her plastic bags on the ground.
‘’They instructed him to lie down and started searching him. The female officer pulled me aside and told me they had been looking for him," she said.
They then proceeded to ask whether they were renting.
"Police went inside the room with him and searched until they found a gun on top of the wardrobe. They called me inside and asked both of us if we know the gun, I said I don’t know anything about it and he kept quiet.
"One of the police officers said they will arrest both of us and he told them to leave me because I don’t know anything," she said.
Tefu said that after Mncube was arrested, she continued renting the place until November.
The gun found in Mncube’s possession was also found to have been used in the murder of a taxi boss, Reggie Mohlala, in January 2015, three months after the soccer star died.
Mncube is already serving more than 30 years for Mohlala’s murder.
Earlier, Lesley Kgaphola, who owned the property where Mncube was renting, told the court that the couple moved in earlier than expected, as the initial agreement was that they would move in February.
State advocate George Baloyi asked Kgaphola if he knew why Mncube moved in early.
Kgaphola replied: "He didn’t specifically explain why, but he said they needed to move in, and they did."
When he was probed about Mncube’s features, Kgaphola said he had dreadlocks and was light in complexion.
Mncube’s features have been integral to the trial, as it is believed that one of the intruders had dreadlocks at the time of the murder.
Meyiwa was killed while visiting his singer girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, at her home in Vosloorus on October 26, 2014.
The five accused in the Meyiwa murder trial are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
IOL