News24.com | Mihalik murder trial rolled over to Tuesday

Advocate Pete Mihalik Photo: Adrian de Kock

• The trial was delayed due to one of the lawyers being unwell. 
• The first person to go into the witness box, Sizwe Biyela, seemed frustrated that he could not carry on with his testimony. 
• He had been identified as a good match for the shooter captured on CCTV.

The trial of the three men accused of murdering Cape Town lawyer Pete Mihalik has been rolled over to Tuesday because one of their counsel was ill. 

Sizwe Biyela's shoulders sank at the disappointment of not being able to get his testimony out of the way. 

When he began testifying at the last session, he got as far as explaining that he used to work in a warehouse in Durban, and had taken up an offer in a tavern to buy and sell Krugerrands, a valuable gold coin. 

Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti are on trial for the murder of Mihalik and the attempted murder of his children on 30 October 2018 in Green Point. They have all pleaded not guilty. 

All three are in custody. 

Friday's hit on hip-hop artist Kiernan "AKA" Forbes was the talk of the court corridors, where serious gang and murder cases play out every day.

Khumalo is Biyela's cousin, and they began working together in the gold coin business. 

Biyela is a 30-year-old unmarried father of three from Umlazi. 

READ | From warehouse worker to Kruger rand dealer: Alleged Mihalik triggerman testifies

A gold exchange employee has already testified that Maliti was a customer there, and that on the day of the murder, he had arrived to exchange coins in a deal that came to R200 000. Through his lawyer, Maliti has stated that he was just there in the normal course of his business as a second-hand jewellery and gold dealer.

A forensic study of the CCTV imagery has pinpointed Biyela as the alleged shooter in a bold checked shirt. 

The long-awaited testimony is aimed at giving some insight into who the three men are and whether the police caught the right people after a fluke breakthrough relating to a traffic stop. 

However, it has taken from October 2018 to now to get Biyela onto the witness stand, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other delays.

The trial has showcased the police's use of technology to build a case, and has included deep analysis of CCTV footage, with a forensic artist, cellphone data call, and location analysis.