The court heard that Kelly Khumalo and the accused had been in communication for months prior to Senzo Meyiwa’s death.

Cellphone analyst and investigating officer Lambertus Steyn said several phone calls were made to a number linked to Kelly Khumalo and one of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, months before the Bafana Bafana captain was killed.

Steyn made the explosive revelations in court on Thursday afternoon.

He is the State’s fourth witness since the new trial kicked off almost two weeks ago.

Khumalo and Meyiwa were in a relationship when the Bafana Bafana captain was shot at Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus in 2014 during an apparent robbery.

Steyn said the scope of his investigation included combing through data from the phones of the people who were in the house the night Senzo Meyiwa was shot.

The first call from a number linked to accused number five, Sfisokuhle Ntuli, to Meyiwa’s lover Kelly Khumalo was allegedly made on 2 August 2014.

Steyn said a second call was made to one of Khumalo’s phones on 15 October 2014 less than two weeks before the alleged robbery.

“I didn’t mention the duration of the call. That’s on the previous page – that’s the one of the 98 seconds.”

He further told the court that the data on Khumalo’s phone was wiped hours after Meyiwa was killed.

“That can mean the owner of the phone did delete everything on the phone or some of the information but because it’s a smartphone, we have access to some of your information.”

Steyn’s testimony rattled the quiet courtroom with accused four and five visibly shocked.

Proceedings adjourned with Steyn expected to continue his testimony on Friday.

The court heard that Kelly Khumalo and the accused had been in communication for months prior to Senzo Meyiwa’s death.