One of the five men accused of killing Senzo Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana captain, was also found with a cellphone while he was detained at Villieria police station in Pretoria.

On Tuesday, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard evidence from Warrant Officer Lawrence Thabo Ndlovu, who downloaded data from a device found on accused number two, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi.

This is the second time the court heard evidence regarding the murder accused being found in possession of phones.

On Monday, Sibusiso Yaka, a retired warden at Qalakabusha Correctional Centre told the court that he confiscated a cellphone on accused five, Fisokuhle Ntuli on August 19, 2020.

The court heard that Ntanzi was found with a Samsung cellphone on February 7, 2021.

Ndlovu said he received the device the following day from two investigators who were working on Meyiwa’s case.

He was asked to extract data from the cellphone.

“When I received this evidence I placed it in safe because there is a lot of work we do, on October 20, 2021 that's when I worked on it...The cellphone had one SD card and it had a lock pattern because the owner set it up so not just anyone can open it,” Ndlovu explained.

He further testified that at the time, the software used to crack patterns was not working and then he used a tool called XRY to extract data from the device.

“When I was done with the extraction on the cellphone. I sealed the phone in a new evidence bag.”

He said the cellphone was collected from him on September 5, 2023 by one of officers who brought it, Sergeant Vusumuzi Mogane.

Meanwhile, cellphone data analyst Gideon Gouws is expected to give evidence on the findings from the phone on Wednesday.

Five men—Ntanzi, Ntuli, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Mthobisi Mncube—are on trial for the murder of Meyiwa.

brenda.masilela@iol.co.za

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