The North Gauteng High Court sitting in Pretoria heard that the bullet recovered from Senzo Meyiwa's murder scene is the same kind as the one that was confiscated from one of the accused Mthobisi Mncube. This was revealed by ballistics expert Colonel Chris Mangena, who examined both the murder scene and Senzo's body. He has been on the stand since Tuesday.  

AMMUNITION FROM CRIME SCENE LINKED TO ACCUSED FIREARM

Mangena testified that he received a 9mm parabellum with a filed-off serial number and ammunition on 13 February 2015 to investigate the link between the projection found on Senzo's murder scene and the firearm that was found in the room belonging to the accused number three, Mncube in 2015. The same firearm was being investigated in another case in Cleveland. Mangena says he found that the characteristics matched general characteristics but were not enough on individual characteristics and therefore decided to conduct more ballistic tests. He said the etching process to determine the serial number of the gun was successful in determining the original serial number. He also told the court that the bullets in the blue box which was found in Mncube's room were CMJ bullets and were of the same nature as the bullet projectile found on the murder scene.

SENZO WAS SHOT AT CLOSE RANGE

Mangena also examined Senzo's body at the Germiston government mortuary and said the tearing on the late footballer's vest indicated that he was shot at a close range. "What I see is that the firearm was in contact with the body of the deceased...It was a close contact shot," he said. He also said that from Senzo's clothes, he concluded that two shots were fired with one having been fatal. This contradicts Kelly Khumalo's sister Zandie who said she heard three gunshots. Zandie was the first witness to be called to the stand when the second trial started last month. "The tearing on the vest indicates a close range, it's very close range. One shot was fired at the crime scene and one shot was fired directly at the floor at an angle of 90 degrees... If someone was close it's possible they could have been hit," he added.

SHOT WHILE STANDING

Mangena added that his investigation found that when Senzo was shot, he was standing in the kitchen with his back facing the door. "The most probable position the deceased was in during the infliction of the wounds is that he was initially standing upright in the kitchen, behind a half-closed door, with his back to the door but not in contact. The damage on the door indicated the bullet was unstable, after exiting the deceased's body, and it hit the door, maybe moving side to side," he said, adding that he could not rule out a scuffle. Mangena will be back on the stand tomorrow.