The appearance in court of five suspects allegedly responsible for the murder of former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa on October 26, 2014, has been described as a “smokescreen” and a “cover-up” to divert attention and “shield” the identity of the person responsible for the murder of the Durban-born soccer star.
Meyiwa was shot and killed under mysterious circumstances during a social gathering at the home of singer and actress Kelly Khumalo in Mzamo Acres, Vosloorus.
At the time of his death, the popular goalkeeper was in the company of Kelly’s mother, Ntombi, Khumalo, Kelly’s sister, Zandi, and her boyfriend, Longwe Twala, as well as Senzo’s childhood friend from Durban.
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What exactly happened inside the Khumalo family home that evening has remained a mystery, shrouded in the silence of all those present in the house that day.
The subsequent arrest by the police of a local Rastafarian, Zamokuhle Mbatha, who lives not far from the Khumalo home, seemed to solve the mystery of Meyiwa.
Mbatha was later released by the police and told to go home.
Mbatha instituted a legal claim of unlawful arrest and detention against the police, claiming R10-million for his ordeal. At the time, there were claims made by media reports that Meyiwa was “mistakenly shot”, allegedly during a botched robbery.
Will the Senzo Meyiwa murder case ever be solved?
Mbatha’s arrest was linked to the murder due to what investigators claimed were descriptions given to them in statements made by the people who were guests of the Khumalos that evening. Mbatha was said to be the dreadlocked Rastafarian who was accompanied by two others who entered the house with the intention of robbing them.
Unconfirmed claims mentioned that Meyiwa died during a botched robbery was later overruled by further allegations that instead Meyiwa was “accidentally” shot while trying to intervene in a quarrel between Zandi and Twala.
Former Police Minister Fikile Mbalula promised the Meyiwa family he would “leave no stone unturned” in pursuing the killer or killers of Meyiwa.
The case has since dragged on. The head of investigations at the time, Col Bongani Gininda, has been accused of withholding information contained in a statement he had received in 2017 about who murdered Meyiwa and why.
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Almost seven years after the killing, it was only in May this year that a case of defeating the ends of justice was opened against Gininda. Gininda was mysteriously transferred to KwaZulu-Natal before he was brought in for questioning about the docket allegations levelled against him.
Responding to media claims about the Meyiwa case docket being “stolen” or “missing”, Police Minister Bheki Cele disputed these allegations and assured journalists the docket was in the safe custody of the SAPS.
There are also claims that the case has been so “contaminated” that the Prosecuting Authority is unwilling to execute an arrest against Gininda.
The recent arrest of the suspects has been met with general disapproval by the public to accept this as a solution to closing the case.
WATCH: Senzo Meyiwa murder case postponed to March 2021
The question remains: Who really killed Meyiwa and what is Cele doing about getting the real killer or killers arrested and finally brought to book?
