The first police officer to arrive at the scene where Senzo Meyiwa was brutally murdered was back on the witness stand again.Sergeant Patrick Mthethwa insists that the house where Meyiwa was killed only became a crime scene to him after he had information on what transpired. When Mthethwa was questioned by Advocate Mshololo ,who is the defence of one of the five accused, he made some changes to his initial testimony.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION

Mshololo first asked about Mthethwa's level of education the time he attended the crime scene. "I don't see how my level of education will assist us in this matter. I had five years experience  and I was a constable. On the day I was with Mathebula who was also a constable," Mthethwa responded. Advocate Mshololo said she wanted to know his level of education to understand if he was suitable to attend to that crime scene.

MTHETHWA WASN'T ALONE

When Mthethwa gave his testimony yesterday he said there were only two of them in the car when they responded to "a shooting in progress". However when Mshololo put it to the court that she has statements from two other officers who were in the same car as Mthethwa, the witness said he felt no need to mention them.
"Do you know constable Mark Sibiya, he made a statement that on Sunday 26 October 2014 he was on duty with you," said Mshololo. Mthethwa then admitted to being with Sibiya and another student constable on that fateful night but said he didn't see the importance of naming them as they were students at the time. Mshololo said the shooting was poorly investigated because the people who responded were inexperienced juniors.
" You went to the crime scene and left it unattended rushing to the hospital. You left for an hour and a lot could have happened then," asked Mshololo, to which Mthethwa responded, "It occurred to me that it was a crime scene but my problem is that there was no one to point out to me where the incident happened, whether it was inside or outside the house. That's why I had to go to the hospital so I could get answers ," said  Mthethwa.

WITNESS STATEMENT

Mshololo then read a statement from a witness who went to the house when the Khumalo family had rushed to the hospital.
Witness Sylvia Ngubeni's statement reads, "When I arrived at the Khumalo house, the doors were closed. I don't know who unlocked them. I was with Maggie, Julia and Gugu. I went in because I wanted to see what had happened. When we got in, there was water on the floor and I was surprised because a person had allegedly been shot there. Maggy Phiri started picking up the empty cans of alcohol and I asked her why she was doing that? She said she did not want the police to see that the people who were in the house were drinking and I told her to stop. The police arrived at the scene when we were outside, they got into the house, I don't remember who let them in. Later a lot of cops came and cordoned off the scene and asked all people to step out of the yard and said only the family should remain."

CRIME SCENE CLEANED

Mshololo told Mthethwa:"Before you arrived from hospital the crime scene was cleaned and that's why you didn't find any blood stains. Had you not left the house those people wouldn't have had access to contaminate the scene." Court was adjourned and a third witness will take the stand on Monday.