Vodacom forensic supervisor Pinky Vythilingam says a SIM swap was done on former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa’s phone a day after his death, and 63 successful calls were made using the swapped card.
Vythilingam revealed this as she continued with her testimony in the trial of the five men charged with Meyiwa’s murder at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
SIM SWAP DONE ON SENZO MEYIWA’S PHONE AFTER HIS DEATH
Meyiwa was shot and killed at the home of his girlfriend and singer, Kelly Khumalo, on 26 October 2014 in Vosloorus. Initially, alleged botched robbery. However, police evidence indicates that it was a planned assassination.
On Tuesday, Vythilingam said that somebody did the sim swap on 27 October 2014 at Cellucity in Benmore Gardens.
Retired cellphone data analyst Colonel Lambertus Styen previously told the court in 2023 how they were able to link all the five accused based on calls between each other before Meyiwa was murdered. Based on this, police were then able to establish that all the five accused seemingly knew each other.
Furthermore, Steyn said Meyiwa received a call after 22:00 on the same night of the incident while at Botshelong Hospital (based on a nearby cellphone tower). He was rushed to the hospital after he was shot, indicating that the phone was with him at the hospital.
This contradicts the testimony of the first State witness and Kelly’s sister, Zandile Khumalo, who said that they found Meyiwa’s phone in the kitchen when they returned from Botshelong Hospital on the day of the incident.
HOW DOES DAVID MATHEBULA FEATURE?
During his testimony, Steyn also told the court how Khumalo was in contact with retired footballer David Mathebula following Meyiwa’s murder.
The Empini hitmaker, whose phone was reportedly stolen when Meyiwa was shot, was in the vicinity of a hostel in Vosloorus around 22:43 the same night.
Steyn further revealed the new SIM card was used in former Kaizer Chiefs footballer David Mathebula’s handset.
Steyn found that eight calls were made between David Mathebula’s phone and Kelly Khumalo, he however said it could be an old phone in which they had inserted the SIM card. He also told the court he could not say who was making the calls as they were all “call forwards” meaning they were not picked up because the phone was off or the other phone had no signal.
FIVE MEN ARE ON TRIAL FOR THE MURDER
Five men are on trial for the murder of Senzo Meyiwa. Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli. They face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition. All five men pleaded not guilty
