By Anita Dangazele
- Sifiso Meyiwa says Tumelo Madlala, who was in the house when Senzo died, called the family that night and told them his brother was shot by mistake during a fight.
- A second docket in the case names Kelly Khumalo, Longwe Twala and others present that night as suspects. It has not been prosecuted.
Sifiso Meyiwa says he has known what happened to his brother since the night Senzo died. More than a decade later, he is still waiting for the law to catch up.
On Tuesday, Sifiso stood outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria with a group called Friends of Senzo Meyiwa and said publicly what the family has been saying privately for years. The five men currently on trial are not the right suspects.
“The right people are not charged,” he said. “Those people who are in court are not the right suspects.”
Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead on 26 October 2014 at the Khumalo family home in Vosloorus. He was 27. Five men, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Sifisokuhle Ntuli, Mthobisi Prince Ncube, Bongani Ntanzi and Mthokoziseni Maphisa, are on trial for his murder at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. All five have pleaded not guilty.
Sifiso says the family received a call that same night from Tumelo Madlala, one of the people inside the house when Senzo was shot. Madlala told them Senzo was shot by mistake.
“We received a call from Tumelo,” Sifiso said. “He stated that Senzo was shot by mistake. Where is the mistake now?”
Sifiso says Orlando Pirates chairman Dr Irvin Khoza also told him directly that his brother was not killed by criminals. “He said my son, your brother was not shot by any criminals. If the truth was revealed, it was going to cause a lot of problems.”
There is a second docket in the case. Docket CAS375 was opened in 2019 and names Kelly Khumalo, her sister Zandile, their mother Gladness Khumalo, Longwe Twala, Madlala, Mthokozisi Thwala and a woman named Maggie Phiri, who is alleged to have cleaned the crime scene before police arrived, as suspects. It has not been prosecuted.
The docket was pushed by Colonel Joyce Buthelezi, a senior police officer who had been investigating the case. She recommended that everyone in the house that night be arrested and charged. Her recommendation was rejected and she was removed from the case.
Madlala himself named Buthelezi in court testimony three years ago, saying she had confused the investigation and done things that were not right.
Defence advocates in the Gauteng High Court have repeatedly argued that Longwe Twala, not the five accused, shot and killed Meyiwa. Twala has never been formally charged or questioned as a suspect in court.
Sifiso says Twala arrived at the Khumalo home that night in a rage, unable to reach his girlfriend Zandile, and that the shooting happened during a confrontation.
The protest group handed a memorandum to the Presidency demanding that Ramaphosa instruct SAPS, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate and the National Prosecuting Authority to speed up the full investigation.
Spokesperson Herbert Maphumulo said the family is tired of what they call a cover-up. “We are hoping that the president will give this case the same attention he gave to Phala Phala when his dollars were stolen,” he said.
Pictured above: Protesters gathered outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday demanding justice for Senzo Meyiwa.
Image source: Justice for Senzo Meyiwa/Facebook Group
