Justice for Meyiwa | Cellphone records in the spotlight

JOHANNESBURG - Accused 3 Mthobisi Mncube's phone was inactive for over half a day in the hours and minutes leading to Senzo Meyiwa's murder, that's the evidence of Vodacom Official Pinky Vythilingam.

She says the phone only became active the next day.

Vythilingam’s evidence also seemingly corroborated one of the accused’s claimed whereabouts that afternoon.

The court zoomed in on Mncube's cell phone records in the lead-up to and after Meyiwa's murder.

The calls between accused 3 Mthobisi Mncube and accused 5 Fisokuhle Ntuli on the day of Meyiwa’s murder again came under scrutiny, as a Vodacom forensic official returned to the stand.

A previous cellphone data analyst, Gideon Gouws, revealed three calls on the day, two of them made by Mncube in Vosloorus just hours before Meyiwa’s murder, while a third call was made by Ntuli later in the day.

WATCH | Sim swap on Senzo Meyiwa's number under scrutiny

But Vythilingam’s evidence also pointed to another call between the two men, with Ntuli using another number he has admitted is his.

Data also reveals the two men were at a George Goch hostel in the early evening, corroborating Ntuli’s earlier claims that he was not in Vosloorus at the time.

The State alleges Mncube is the gun-wielding intruder that shot and killed Meyiwa on the day, with accused 5 named as the coordinator of a hit orchestrated by Meyiwa's then-girlfriend singer Kelly Khumalo.

But Mncube’s records show his phone was inactive at the time, with his last location in Johannesburg.

The trial continues on Wednesday.