Pretoria - Tumelo Madlala, who was Senzo Meyiwa’s best friend and was present when he was murdered, told the court that he did not care about Meyiwa’s family as their relationship soured after the soccer star was killed.
Madlala, who was speaking during cross examination, told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday that his relationship with the Meyiwa’s fractured after the former captain’s death.
Madlala was being cross-examined by advocate Zandile Mshololo, the legal counsel representing one of the five men accused of killing Meyiwa.
Mshololo asked Madlala what led to the hostility between him and the Meyiwa family.
He said he did not know the reason behind the Meyiwa’s bitterness towards him.
“What I know is that after Senzo’s death, his father would come to my place and find my girlfriend and insult her…
“One day I was travelling in a car with Senzo’s brother, Sfiso, I saw Senzo’s mother, I greeted her and she kept quiet, so I don’t know why they were behaving like that,” Madlala responded.
“Is it not because they were accusing you of not revealing the truth about this case?” asked Mshololo.
“I repeat, they have never accused me of anything,” he replied.
Mshololo also asked Madlala how much he was paid by a production company contracted by Netflix to produce a documentary around Meyiwa’s murder.
Madlala admitted he was paid for providing Meyiwa’s pictures to the production company, but claimed he did not remember how much he had been paid.
“I have their numbers, I can give you and you ask them yourself because I don’t record everything in my head. I still have the records.”
“Do you remember or not?” asked Mshololo.
“I don’t remember,” replied Madlala.
Madlala said when Netflix initially approached him, he refused to give them Meyiwa’s pictures but he eventually gave them after Meyiwa’s brother and cousin, Siyabonga Miya, asked him to release the pictures.
Mshololo asked if anyone besides him benefited from the deceased’s pictures.
“Because what happened? Why was I supposed to share the money? Those were my pictures … I’m the only one who benefited from the pictures, they were mine and in my camera.”
Madlala insisted that he did not use Meyiwa’s pictures for monetary value and would have not released the pictures if Meyiwa’s family had not asked him.
Meanwhile, Madlala also told the court that he could not identify accused five.
Meyiwa was killed on October 26, 2014, while in the company of his girlfriend and the mother of his child, Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus.
In the house that day were Meyiwa, Kelly and her younger sister, Zandile, their mother Ntombi Khumalo (MaKhumalo), Longwe Twala, Meyiwa’s friends Mthokozisi Thwala and Tumelo Madlala, Kelly’s then 4-year-old son, Christian, and Thingo, her daughter with Meyiwa.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
IOL