Meyiwa trial: Police commander to be questioned on accused's claims of torture

JOHANNESBURG - The drawn-out Senzo Meyiwa murder trial is set to continue at the Pretoria High Court on Thursday morning.

A total of five men are on trial for the 2014 murder of the Bafana Bafana captain.

Pretoria’s Moot Police Station commander, Karel Swanepoel, will return to the stand for a second day on Thursday.

His testimony-in-chief will form part of the trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of confession statements made by two of the accused – Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi.

Both Sibiya and Ntanzi denied implicating themselves in the crime, accusing police of torturing them into confessing.

In Wednesday’s proceedings, lead investigator Bongani Gininda denied the claims.

“He was even better than he was before – he looked like a weight was taken off his shoulders. But other than that, there was no sign of fear, concern, or threat that I detected when I examined him. There was also no sign of injury when I spoke to him.”

Using cell registers from 2020, Swanepoel is now expected to shed some light about the accused’s claims of torture.