Muzi Sibiya Claims Police Tortured Him to Force a Confession in Senzo Meyiwa Murder Case
Accused number one in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Muzi Sibiya, has once again claimed that he was tortured by police officers and forced to sign a confession linking him to the football star’s death.
Also Read: Senzo Meyiwa Murder Trial Postponed Again Over Evidence Linked to Kelly Khumalo’s Neighbour
Accused Testifies in Pretoria High Court
Sibiya took the stand in the Pretoria High Court on Monday as the high-profile trial resumed after a three-week break.
The court is hearing the case against five men charged with the 2014 murder of Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot and killed at Kelly Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg.
The State alleges that Sibiya acted as the lookout on the night of 26 October 2014, when what has been described as a botched home invasion resulted in Meyiwa’s fatal shooting.
“I Was Beaten and Forced to Sign”
Speaking softly through a translator, Sibiya told the court that he was arrested in 2019 for a crime he maintains he did not commit.
He claimed that police beat and tortured him during interrogation to make him sign a pre-written statement confessing to the murder.
This is not the first time Sibiya has raised these allegations. During a trial-within-a-trial last year, he also testified that the alleged confession was coerced and that he was never involved in Meyiwa’s killing.
Legal Aid to Support Defence Witnesses
In a separate development, the court has ordered Legal Aid South Africa to fund accommodation and travel costs for all defence witnesses during their testimonies.
The trial, which has drawn nationwide attention for years, continues as the court examines the circumstances surrounding the killing of the beloved football star whose death remains one of South Africa’s most contentious murder cases.