A gun that killed Senzo Meyiwa will take centre stage today with ballistic expert testimony which the state hopes will link the weapon with one of the accused in his murder trial.
Lt-Col Chris Mangena, once a prominent figure in the Oscar Pistorius trial, will give evidence on his investigation into the bullet fragment found at the Meyiwa murder scene and the gun the state believes killed him.
Mangena’s evidence has been much anticipated as defence lawyers have previously questioned the integrity of the ballistic and forensic chain of evidence before court.
State witnesses have identified Mthobisi Carlos Mncube as the person who walked into the house with a gun.
During cross-examination of other state witnesses, the defence has suggested that storage procedures for the gun could have been compromised and that the bullet fragment found at the scene may have been planted.
Meanwhile, the court heard yesterday how, due to the severity of his gun shot wound, Meyiwa would have died within minutes, if not seconds after being shot.
The distance between his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s Vosloorus home, where Meyiwa was shot and the hospital to which he was taken, is about 10 minutes by car.
Specialist pathologist Johannes Steenkamp testified that Meyiwa could have died in minutes if not seconds from the gunshot wound.
“The heart and lungs are vital organs, and while injuries to these organs can lead to rapid demise, in this instance, survival would have been possible for mere seconds or minutes rather than an hour. The severe damage inflicted on the heart and lungs, combined with significant blood loss, contributed to the outcome,” said Steenkamp.
Previous state witnesses told the court that when they took him to the hospital, he was still alive.
Steenkamp testified that the bullet wound entry was situated on the right side of Meyiwa’s chest, tearing through the lung and creating lacerations before exiting through his back.
Reading from the death register which includes the postmortem results, Steenkamp said he examined the body of a black man on October 28 2014 at the Germiston mortuary.
“The man was wearing a white blood-stained t-shirt, a blue tracksuit and a white vest. The blue trousers are stained with blood-stained fluid at the back... ” said Steenkamp.
He said the bullet caused a tear in the right heart chamber, directing blood towards the lungs and partially lacerated the right coronary artery.
“The wound track courses downward and outward, deviating laterally from the body's midline. It traverses the anterior chest, passing over the sternum and maintaining a distance of 1cm from the chest wall to the third rib. This trajectory forms an acute angle in the descending direction.
“When investigating the chest and diaphragm, I found that there was significant blood loss which was a result of internal bleeding,” said Steenkamp.
Steenekamp explained the cause of the death is consistent with a bullet wound through the chest and the heart.
During cross-examination, Steenkamp said it was possible that the suspect who shot Meyiwa could have been taller than him.
According to the pathologist, when he was performing the autopsy, he measured Meyiwa as being 1.77m tall.
The other accused are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli.
Adv Zandile Mshololo, for accused number 5, cites the trajectory of the bullet and asked Steenkamp whether the shot could've been fired by a tall person and whether the wound was fatal.
“Yes, it is possible that the person who shot the victim could have been taller and yes, it was a fatal wound,” said Steenkamp.
mashalek@sowetan.co.za
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