An expert in vehicle tracking systems took the stand in the murder trial of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa to authenticate the data obtained from a vehicle that was transporting two of the five accused.
The State called Micheal du Preez, the CEO of the car tracking company, Ctrack, a system used by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria is currently in a trial-within-a-trial to determine whether alleged confessions were made by Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi.
The two accused claim that police made numerous stops while escorting them and they were assaulted, electrocuted, tortured and suffocated.
Du Preez’s role was to confirm the data obtained on the vehicle that was transporting the accused.
He said that it would be virtually impossible to alter the data.
“Without intimate knowledge of the system, it is virtually impossible to tamper with the data. It is protected by various firewall encryption...
“If someone tries to alter data, the chronological order of the data would be out of sequence and out of logical reason, which would then reflect that it was tampered with,’’ he said.
He also said that when installing the device on the car, they make sure it's done out of sight so that clients don’t tamper with it.
The defence wanted Du Preez’s to clarify certain aspects of the data, and he was told to prepare the required documents.
It's still unclear when he will return to the stand, as he explained that he has other commitments.
The five accused in the Meyiwa murder trial are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Mncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli.
The trial continues on Friday.
IOL