Meyiwa murder trial: Confession statement reveals Ntanzi feared his co-accused

JOHANNESBURG - A confession signed by one of the men accused of Senzo Meyiwa’s murder has revealed how he wanted to be protected from his co-accused at the time that he confessed.

Bongani Ntanzi’s statement, which he signed before a magistrate in June 2020, was laid bare in court on Monday.

Magistrate Vivian Cronje took to the witness stand to read it.

Ntanzi is one of five men accused of murdering the Bafana Bafana captain in October 2014.

READ: Confession statement reveals accused was paid R45k for his hand in Meyiwa murder

Every morning when Ntanzi walks into the dock for court proceedings, he greets all four of his co-accused, shaking their hands before taking a seat.

But his statement, read by Magistrate Cronje, revealed how fearful of them Ntanzi was when he made his confession statement almost four years ago.

"I believe I need to be protected from the group of people who I was with when this whole thing was committed. I was already pointed with a finger as a warning when this thing was done and I was still a young boy."

Ntanzi, who was the youngest of the accused at 24 when Senzo Meyiwa was killed, told Magistrate Cronje that he also did not trust the police. 

"I’m not sure where else in Gauteng they have been arrested. They were all grown-ups at that time. I also do not trust the police since they can be easily bribed."

In his confession, Ntanzi further detailed how his co-accused threatened him several times after they committed the crime, a detail that did not feature in his initial statement.