On Wednesday, state's Prosecutor Advocate Dansi Mpemvane, and Defence Advocate Venecia Abrahams, made their closing arguments before Judge Joseph Mhlambi. Mpemvane argued in the state's case that Masiu, Sprinkaan Maema - who is serving a 33-year jail sentence - and another man identified as "Lereng" planned an ambush where Tshabalala was fatally shot in Phelindaba in Mangaung in 2018.

Mpemvane also described Masiu - who stands accused of murder and robbery - as dishonest and a liar following testimonies from state witnesses which contradicted his version of the chain of events before and after the murder of the Hawks captain, on the evening of 24 May.

Masiu, during his testimony, claimed that he was unaware of plans to kill Tshabalala as he was only asked by Maema to collect money.

In its summary of substantial facts, the state alleges that the accused, the convicted Maema, and another attacker were aware of the whereabouts of the deceased at Phelindaba and that they went there to execute the plan. However, the state also says the motive for the murder is still unclear at this stage. But the state, however, adds that Tshabalala would at times testify on criminal matters in court.

The state had prepared 27 witnesses, including FS evidence analyst, Karin Jacobs, to give their accounts of details in the murder case which can see Masiu being sentenced to life prison, if not two terms in jail.

Masiu was arrested on 14 August 2019 after evading arrest in 2018 while in hospital in Lesotho attending to the gunshot wound he sustained during the shoot-out with Captain Tshabalala. This was the second hospital at which he evaded arrest after his alleged transgressions with the law.

After suffering a gunshot wound during the murder of Tshabalala - Masiu was whisked away from the National Hospital in Bloemfontein and his friends took him to Lesotho instead. He claimed that he was shot in his flat in Willows, something that the state has made off as untrue. Masiu has been a regular feature in crimes around Park Road and Bloemspruit, which include murder, attempted murder, and business robbery, committed with unlicensed firearms.

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