- Defence lawyer Zandile Mshololo argued that Tumelo Madlala sold pictures of Senzo Meyiwa to Netflix immediately after his death.
- Madlala seemingly evaded the question of how much Netflix paid for the pictures.
- Mshololo argued that Madlala had compromised the case by sharing information with Netflix.
The friendship between Tumelo Madlala and murdered Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa came under scrutiny in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday afternoon.
The lawyer for the defence, advocate Zandile Mshololo, for one of the accused, Fisokuhle Ntuli, argued during the cross-examination of Meyiwa's close friend, Madlala, that he breached Meyiwa's trust when he shared valuable information and pictures with production company Netflix for a documentary.
Ntuli, Bongani Ntanzi, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthobisi Ncube and Mthokoziseni Maphisa are on trial for Meyiwa's murder.
Madlala told the court that Sifiso Meyiwa and his cousin, Siya, approached him to share pictures of Senzo with Netflix, after he had initially declined. He said it was not easy to refuse the family's request.
Madlala seemingly evaded the question of how much Netflix paid to share the pictures of his best friend.
He told the court that he did not share the money with the Meyiwa family.
"So, according to your knowledge, you are the only one who benefitted? You sold them [the pictures] for monetary value?" Mshololo asked.
Madlala insisted that the Meyiwa family approached him to share information with Netflix.
Mshololo argued that Madlala was not a reliable friend and that he had compromised the case by sharing information with Netflix.
She asked why there was a rift between Madlala and the Meyiwa family after the murder of Senzo.
Madlala conceded that he was no longer on good terms with the Meyiwa family.
"Do you know what it is they were accusing you of?" Mshololo asked.
Madlala said they did not accuse him of anything.
Mshololo argued that the Meyiwa family accused Madlala of not revealing the truth about the case.
"Don't you find it strange that you, as the best friend of the deceased, are not on good terms with the family?" Mshololo asked.
"[I] don't have answers why they are conducting themselves in that manner," he replied.
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Mshololo said Madlala relied on Meyiwa for transport money and accommodation when he visited him in Johannesburg.
But when Meyiwa was shot dead in the Vosloorus house on 26 October 2014, Madlala became "desperate" because he had nowhere to go, she argued.
"And the only person who came to your rescue was Ms Kelly Khumalo?" Mshololo asked.
Madlala agreed, saying he stayed with Khumalo at her home in Alberton. He told the court he could not recall the period he stayed with her.
He told the court that they did not discuss the case - and, most of the time, Khumalo locked herself in the room.
"She was a person who was always crying," he testified.
Mshololo further questioned Madlala's sobriety and the rest of the people inside the house at the time Meyiwa was killed.
A picture of a Heineken beer and a Smirnoff Guarana alcoholic mixer was shown in court. It was the only two cans recovered by police on the scene, despite Madlala telling the court that they had consumed more alcohol at the house.
Mshololo argued that the cans depicted in the picture were not a true reflection of what they had consumed inside the house.
"Yes, that is correct," he said.
Mshololo argued that the cans had been removed from the crime scene before the police arrived.
He said:
Mshololo then asked Madlala: "How will this court be able to know, to determine, your state of sobriety if that evidence has now been removed for the number of cans that have been consumed by all of you in the house?"
Madlala told the court that he did not know how it happened because they had left home to take Meyiwa to the hospital.
Madlala also conceded that he had never seen Ntuli before, and was surprised that he was in court.