Defence advocate Zandile Mshololo has accused Senzo Meyiwa’s childhood friend Tumelo Madlala of betraying the soccer star’s trust for financial gain.
This after the friendship between Madlala and murdered Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa came under scrutiny in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Madlala is the state’s third witness to take the stand in the trial against five men accused of murdering the Bafana Bafana captain.
Meyiwa was killed in October 2014 at his then girlfriend’s Kelly Khumalo’s family home in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg.
The lawyer for the defence, advocate Zandile Mshololo, for one of the accused, Fisokuhle Ntuli, argued during the cross examination that Madlala breached Meyiwa’s trust when he shared valuable information and pictures with production company Netflix for a documentary.
During cross-examination, Madlala told the court that he demanded payment from Netflix for the pictures he supplied of his deceased best friend Senzo Meyiwa.
Madlala told the court that Sifiso Meyiwa and his cousin Siya, asked him to share pictures of Meyiwa with Netflix, after he had initially declined. He said it was not easy to refuse the family’s request.
On a number of occasions, Madlala refused to disclose how much he was paid for Meyiwa’s pictures.
On Tuesday Mshololo, the lawyer for accused number five asked the question again and was scathing in her questioning.
“You sold them for monetary value?” asked Mshololo, however Madlala denied selling them.
Madlala told the court that he forgot how much he was paid for the pictures.
He told the court he did not share the money with the Meyiwa family.
“So according to your knowledge, you are the only one who benefitted? You sold them the pictures for monetary value?” Mshololo asked.
Madlala conceded that he was no longer in good terms with the Meyiwa family.
Source: IOL, Times Live, Eyewitness News, News24, Image from Twitter: @ChaukeKBK