The trial of five men accused of the murder of Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa started on Monday. File Picture
AS THE trial of the five men accused of the 2014 murder of Bafana Bafana ace goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa kicked off in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday, AfriForum’s legal head, advocate Gerrie Nel, said he believes more people should have been arrested for the crime.
“From what I have seen and the briefings I have had from the South African Police Service, I am convinced that we have the correct people in court, but I would have expected more arrests. I would have expected other people to be with them because I have said it all along. I do not believe that this was a robbery that went wrong,” Nel said to journalists as he walked into court with some Meyiwa family members he represents.
“There is something more than that. If that is true, one would have expected other people to be here. Having said that, we have people before court – that’s a strategy of the prosecution service. I hope we can just start.”
Nel said he is informed that the police investigations are at an advanced stage, and there is an idea of who masterminded the murder of the Orlando Pirates goal minder who was killed almost eight years ago at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus.
“As far as I am concerned, the police know who it is (the mastermind of the murder). They have finalised the investigations. They are still busy with it, I think here and there. As far as I am concerned, the police have a very good idea of who the mastermind is, and I am sure that if the mastermind is not added to the indictment, there will be other indictments in the future,” said Nel.
The trial of the five men accused of the high-profile murder of the Bafana Bafana star started in the High Court in Pretoria amid heightened speculation on the circumstances around the cold-blooded murder in October 2014.
The five men are Muzikawukhulelwa Sthemba Sibiya, 34, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, 30, Mthobisi Prince Ncube, 36, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, 35, and Sifikuhle Nkani Ntuli.
All of the men are behind bars serving sentences for various other crimes, while others are still awaiting trial.
In 2020, Police Minister Bheki Cele said five suspects linked to the death of Meyiwa had been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Following the shooting, police said two suspected robbers entered the house and demanded cellphones and money.
In another development, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced that one of the suspects accused in the Meyiwa murder, Sibiya, has been sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for attempted murder in another case.
Sibiya was sentenced by the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court to 12 years’ direct imprisonment on Thursday, April 7, 2022.
The NPA said: “This is after he was convicted for the attempted murder of Ntombenhle Ndaba and Mfanelo Mbatha whom he attacked in a hail of bullets, but miraculously they survived.”
“He was also accused of shooting his girlfriend in December 2014 after she threatened to blow the whistle on him for his alleged involvement in the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, of which he had apparently confided in the girlfriend.”
The NPA welcomed the conviction and sentence.