By Dylan Bettencourt
- CCTV footage shows Longwe Twala walking confidently without injury the day after Senzo Meyiwa’s murder, which goes against claims that he shot himself.
- Lead investigator Brigadier Gininda says no blood was found on the floor, and no hospital records show Twala was treated for a gunshot wound.
New CCTV footage has torn apart claims that Longwe Twala shot himself on the night Senzo Meyiwa was murdered.
The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday watched footage showing Twala walking confidently to Meyiwa’s grey BMW X6. He opened the door for his girlfriend Zandi Khumalo without any sign of injury.
The car was parked at the Khumalo house where the shooting took place.
Brigadier Bongani Gininda, the lead investigator in the case, confirmed it was Twala in the video. He said the footage was taken the day after the killing.
“That is Longwe Twala. I know him from the investigations,” Gininda told the court. He added that Zandi was also correctly identified, and the car belonged to the late football star.
Gininda said he was told by the late advocate Thulani Mngomezulu that Twala had shot himself in the foot during the incident. But the footage showed Twala walking without any problems.
“He seems to be walking fine, contrary to what was put to me,” Gininda said. “That is someone who’s said to have shot himself. None of the people in the house, not even Twala, said he shot himself.”
The court also revisited a transcript in which Mngomezulu claimed three bullets were fired. One struck the floor and hit Zandi, another hit Meyiwa, and the third hit Twala in the ankle.
Gininda dismissed this story. “It does not correlate,” he said.
He also questioned how Twala could have driven himself to hospital if he was injured.
“If Longwe shot himself in the ankle, there would be blood on the floor. But there isn’t any. And no hospital records show he was treated for a gunshot wound,” he said.
Gininda said nurses don’t ignore gunshot wounds – they would have treated it.
State prosecutor George Baloyi asked Gininda to confirm the timeline. The investigator said the video showed events from the day after Meyiwa was killed, which further weakens the story of Twala being injured.
The trial continues on Thursday.
Pictured above: Longwe Twala.
Image source: File
