Meyiwa trial: Judge Mokgoatlheng calls State ballistics expert to take stand for cross-examination
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Mangena has been waiting for the defence to be ready to cross-examine him after he drew links between one of the accused, Mthobisi Mncube, and the gun used to murder the football star.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng presides over the re-start of the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial on 17 July 2023. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The State's ballistic expert has been called by the presiding judge in the Senzo Meyiwa trial to take the stand for cross-examination, almost a year since his evidence was stood down.
Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Mangena has been waiting for the defence to be ready to cross-examine him after he drew links between one of the accused, Mthobisi Mncube, and the gun used to murder the football star.
On Monday, Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng ordered that Mangena's cross-examination continue, saying he had bent over backwards for the defence by giving them a year to prepare for cross-examination.
State advocate George Baloyi told Judge Mokgoatlheng that the report from the defence's ballistics expert was still not ready.
"I’ve bent backwards for the defence. You will never find a judge in South Africa who did what I did. Even the JP is also worried that I am bending over backwards even when there is no necessity."