MUZIKAWUKHULELWA Sibiya, the first accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, denied making any confessions and detailed alleged torture at the hands of the investigating officers.
After the State closed its defence in the trial-within-a-trial relating to the admission of statements, advocate Thulani Mngomezulu called Sibiya as his first witness.
The trial-within-a-trial was initiated by the High Court in October 2023, after the legal counsel for the five men on trial for the 2014 murder of soccer star Meyiwa, objected to the admission of confessions. They drew attention to statements allegedly made by Sibiya and second accused Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi shortly after their arrests.
Both men opposed the admission of the confessions by the court, alleging that they were tortured, assaulted and even tubed by the investigating officers to force them to admit involvement n the murder.
Sibiya told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that things were so bad that he even pleaded with the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court during his bail appearance on July 10, to remove him from the Silverton police station and send him to prison, as officers were assaulting him whenever they wanted to.
The accused said he was relieved when the court instructed him to be taken to Modderbee Correctional Services, as that put a stop to his torture.
Thereafter, he was charged by lead investigator Brigadier Bongani Gininda for Meyiwa’s murder on July 26, 2020, at the Vosloorus police station.
When asked about the confessions and pointing out statements he allegedly made, Sibiya told the court said he was coerced to do so.
“All that was done to me was not out of my own free will my lord. Even what happened to Mbotho was not out of his free will. I was abused, I was scared because they were pointing with firearms from the morning up until late at night. Whatever I did, I did it for my own safety to save my own life.
“Even those to whom I would report the assaults to, it was the same as those who were assaulting me because there was no assistance that came from them. The police were threatening me and I was in shock,” he told the court.
Sibiya denied pointing out the scene, as alleged by the police, instead he told the court he was taken to Vosloorus police, assaulted and then taken back to Alberton, all the while he was simply doing that which he was instructed to do by the police officers.