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E CAPE COPS TAKE OVER SENZO’S MURDER DOCKET
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Bafana Bafana goalie Senzo Meyiwa was shot while visiting his singer girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, in 2014.
Five years after the unsolved slaying of Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa in Gauteng, the national police commissioner has tasked six top Eastern Cape detectives with cracking the case.
The case docket was transferred to investigators attached to the Eastern Cape commercial crime and anti-corruption units two weeks ago.
A member of the investigating team said they were part of a national task team appointed by national police commissioner General Kehla Sitole to track Meyiwa’s killers.
The investigator said the case was handed to the provincial team to “counter any influence”.
Asked if the docket had come to the Eastern Cape to prevent corruption, he said: “Yes.”
“We were firstly roped in to assess work that had been covered.
“What I can tell you is that the case had been messed up. We are mopping up. The nation had been given false hope,” a source close to the case said.
The Dispatch was told that the whereabouts of the docket had been a secret known to only a few in the police top brass.
This was contrary to media reports, attributed to police minister Bheki Cele, that the case docket had gone missing.
On Tuesday, the head of the commercial crime unit in the Eastern Cape, Brig Tony Perumal, confirmed he was commanding the investigating team.
He said he had been appointed by Sitole as a “special adviser” on the case.
“If you want to know more than that, you will have to speak to the national police spokesperson, Brig Vishnu Naidoo.”
Pressed for more, Perumal said the investigation was ongoing. “Remember we came on board very late.”
A surprised Perumal asked the Dispatch, ” How did you learn about this? We can’t talk about this — as you put it, it is a high-profile case that is deservingly getting a lot of attention.
“The national office chose the confidential approach to avoid jeopardising this ongoing investigation.
“We don’t want anyone to know who and where the docket is being investigated as this has a potential to jeopardise the investigation.”
Meyiwa was shot dead while visiting his songstress girlfriend Kelly Khumalo at her mother’s house in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni in October 2014.
Despite the slaying allegedly taking place in the presence of Khumalo and several witnesses, police failed to make any arrests.
Following media reports last week about the docket going missing, Sitole dismissed them.
The source said their work included looking into all the cases reported in the vicinity of Khumalo’s mother’s home. “The information about the case is contained in four boxes. How can it vanish? When we heard that it was missing we all laughed because it was sitting in front of us.”
On Tuesday, Naidoo said:
Asked if the docket had come to the Eastern Cape to prevent corruption, he said: ‘Yes’ ... “What I can tell you is that the case had been messed up. We are mopping up”
“The article on the front page of the Sunday Independent on November 10 is misleading to say the least.” He was referring to the newspaper’s allegation that there was a cover-up involving senior police officers. He said Sitole was being kept updated on the investigation and was satisfied with the work done so far.
Naidoo denied that the docket was in the Eastern Cape.
When the Dispatch told him about Perumal saying the docket was being handled by an Eastern Cape team, he said: “I am under no obligation to comment on who is part of the investigation team for security reasons.
“The statement was issued yesterday confirming Col Gininda (from Gauteng SAPS) as the leader of the team purely to counter the untruths of the Sunday Independent article.”
The investigator in the case said Bongani Gininda was the initial investigating officer. “He is still on the case, working with us.”
Cele’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Temba, said Cele had been misquoted and the articles were “false”.
“Minister Cele would like to make it clear the case docket on the murder of Senzo Meyiwa is not missing. It is with the South African Police Service.”
Asked about the exact location of the docket, Temba said: “The docket is with the SAPS. It ends there.”
DA federal council chair Helen Zille called on the lead investigator in the case to explain why justice was still not served. She tweeted: “There were at least four other witnesses to this crime. Why is it seemingly impossible to lay a charge? This is a simple question. Please can the lead investigator explain.”
Justice minister Roland Lamola said delays in the investigation were unacceptable. Additional reporting by TimesLIVE