Kelly Khumalo ordered hit on Senzo Meyiwa, court hears

South African singer, Kelly Khumalo, has been named as the person who allegedly paid for former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa to be killed.

This is contained in the affidavit of lead investigator of Meyiwa’s murder case, Brigadier Bongani Gininda.

Gininda was being cross-examined in a trial-within-a-trial in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Cellphone linkages

During proceedings, the investigating officer read out his affidavit, which he deposed in November 2020.

According to Gininda’s statement, cellphone linkages between Khumalo and accused three, Mthobisi Mncube, and accused five, Fisokuhle Ntuli, implicated her in Meyiwa’s murder.

“There are four cellphone numbers that she did not disclose to the police when this incident took place. These numbers were discovered by the XDS system used by the cellphone analyst and subsequently linked to her activities,” the statement reads.

“Investigations further revealed that she is actually linked to the perpetrators of this murder by means of cellphone linkages.

“These linkages connect her to accused three and five. It was further discovered that through cellphone analysis her cellphone memory album has the same photo of a see-through bag containing cash notes and in the exact position or location or spot of that of accused number three.

ALSO READ: Senzo Meyiwa’s murder ‘a hit not robbery gone wrong’

“There is no reasonable explanation as to why Kelly Khumalo would be in contact telephonically with a hitman or killers of her boyfriend and share the same picture of a bag all of money,” the investigating officer alleged in his statement.

Furthermore, Khumalo allegedly wanted to “get rid of the deceased as early as 2013”, which was established as a result of communication records between her and her sister, Zandile Khumalo-Gumede.

“It is apparently clear that she hated him and wanted to get rid of him. She further states that she regrets not succeeding to get rid of him before. Taking all of this into account, an inference can be drawn she meant killing him

“Cellphone records show that after the incident took place, she called a number of people but no call was made to emergency services. She also subsequently went to [a traditional healer] for cleansing as it was done by he other accused in this matter,” Gininda said.

Gininda indicated that in accused one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya’s confession, “he clearly implicates Miss Kelly Khumalo as the person who gave them the instruction to kill Senzo Meyiwa”.

Watch the trial below:

Five men on trial

Meyiwa was fatally shot by armed intruders at the Khumalo family home in Vosloorus, Gauteng on 26 October 2014.

Ntuli, Mncube, Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi and Mthokoziseni Maphisa are on trial for the former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper’s killing and have pleaded not guilty.

It was previously revealed in court that Kelly Khumalo received two phone calls from Ntuli.

The first call was made on 2 August 2014, followed by another on 15 October 2014.

The court also heard that Meyiwa’s murder was not a robbery gone wrong, but a contract killing.

A trial-within-a-trial has been taking place to determine the admissibility of confession statements, pointing out and warning statements by the accused in the main trial.

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