Gun found on Mncube is same one that killed Meyiwa, expert confirms
The gun that killed Senzo Meyiwa on October 2 2014 is the same one that was found in Mthobisi Prince Mncube’s possession — one of five men on trial for the celebrated goalkeeper’s murder.
This gun was found on Mncube when he was arrested on a separate matter in Cleveland, Johannesburg, in 2015 — a year after Meyiwa’s killing. This crucial piece of evidence was given by ballistics expert Lt-Col Christian Mangena who testified in the high court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“The bullet that was recovered from the crime scene was fired from this firearm [Mncube’s gun],” Mangena said.
He said he was able to determine this after examining the projectile found on the kitchen counter at the crime scene and test bullets fired from the gun found in Mncube’s possession.
However, he said the fragmented bullet found on the kitchen floor couldn’t be examined as it was damaged.
During the Meyiwa investigation, Mangena was a police captain attached to the ballistics section of forensics.
He testified that the bullet that shot Meyiwa “perforated his body and hit the door behind him”.
The bullet which he described as “stable and having lost its speed” then ricocheted. Instead of penetrating the door, it landed on the kitchen counter.
Further, Mangena said the shooter was most probably in front of the deceased and the firearm in contact with his chest.
He added that he could not rule out the possibility of an altercation or struggle between Meyiwa and the shooter.
Mangena took the court through a chart he had prepared showing the striation marks on the groove that matched the projectile and the test bullets.
He said he conducted eight different tests.
On the prime residue tests, Mangena said the people who were nearby when the shot was fired and those who touched the deceased could test positive for primer residue.
In this case, he said, it would have been a futile exercise to test the people.
Further, Mangena said it wasn’t unusual for cartridges not to be found at a shooting incident.
Meyiwa, a celebrated goalkeeper who was part of the national team, was killed in what those with him described as a botched robbery. Among those present in Vosloorus was his then-girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, her sister Zandile, their mother Ntombi Khumalo, Zandile’s then-boyfriend, Longwe Twala, and two of Meyiwa’s friends.
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