Dead pupil’s teacher and transport driver testify as murder trial gets under way
The driver of a scholar transport vehicle that carried an 11-year-old boy – who was allegedly killed by his mother – has told the court that he feared for his life after the mother allegedly claimed he was behind her son’s disappearance.
The driver, Mzwakhe Khumalo, 51, took to the witness stand on Wednesday at the Johannesburg high court (Palm Ridge) in the trial of Tiffany Meek, accused of killing her son, Jayden-Lee Meek.
Jayden-Lee’s body was found on May 14 2025 on a staircase at the Swazi’s Place complex in Fleurhof, southwest of Johannesburg. He had been reported missing the previous day after being dropped off by scholar transport outside the complex.
According to the state, the child had returned home from school and was allegedly killed inside the house.
Prosecutors claim he was struck with a blunt object, with blood later found on his bed and school uniform. In a twist, it was further alleged that the scene had been staged to mislead investigators.
Khumalo described the impact of the case on his family and business. He said Meek had allegedly told people gathered at Swazi’s Place after Jayden-Lee’s death: “I blame the transport driver for what happened to my son.”
Khumalo said the accusation had damaged his business, with parents withdrawing their children from his transport service.
He said his daughter had been bullied at school and that he feared for his safety after people began pointing out his vehicle as the bus that had transported Jayden-Lee. “I feared for my life,” he told the court.
He said the business was slowly recovering but had not returned to what it was before the incident.
Earlier, Jayden-Lee’s Grade 6 and Afrikaans teacher testified and told the court that she had seen Jayden-Lee at school on May 13, the day he went missing.
She told the court she had seen the boy after school as she was leaving. “I said goodbye, and I left,” the teacher said.
She said it was likely that Jayden had been waiting for his transport at the time, and was wearing his red school tracksuit and carrying his backpack.
The teacher told the court Meek had not contacted her on May 13 about Jayden-Lee’s disappearance.
She said she only became aware that something was wrong in the early hours of May 14. “When I woke up on May 14, I saw a missed call and a deleted message from Tiffany.”
The message had been sent around midnight, but the teacher said she had only seen it at about 4am.
She then sent Meek a message asking whether there was a problem because she was concerned about receiving a call at that hour.
According to the teacher, Meek responded at about 6am to tell her that Jayden-Lee was missing.
The teacher said she only learnt about the boy’s death after the school break on May 14, at about 11am or 11.30am.
The court heard different accounts about what Jayden was wearing on May 13.
Meek’s plea explanation states that she saw her son leave for school that morning wearing grey school trousers, a white shirt and black takkies.
But the teacher told the court that he was wearing a red tracksuit when she saw him at school that day.
During cross-examination, the defence questioned the teacher about the school’s uniform requirements.
The teacher explained that pupils were expected to wear their tracksuits on Wednesdays and Fridays, while school trousers were worn on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She said Jayden-Lee had worn a tracksuit even on days when it was not a sports day, adding that pupils sometimes wore what they were comfortable in, and teachers then advised them on uniform requirements.