Six years after the murder of former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa, police have made a breakthrough in the case.
Five men are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
On Monday, police commissioner Khehla Sitole announced that the men were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Sitole said the firearm used in the killing of Meyiwa was found in possession of one of the five suspects.
“We have been looking for the weapon since the investigation started. We have now found the weapon and it has been ballistically tested. We have a concrete case this time because it has evidence,” Sitole said during a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday.
Read: Crucial evidence 'overlooked' in Senzo Meyiwa murder case
Sitole, who was joined by Police Minister Bheki Cele, said they were confident that the evidence was adequate and they would have a strong case in court.
“In 2018, the national commissioner established a cold case team in response to many calls regarding various criminal cases that have not been successfully investigated. Months later, the murder case of Senzo Meyiwa was assigned to the cold case unit. Since then, the unit has worked tirelessly on it,” Cele said.
The minister said during the past two years, there has been lots of speculation over who was responsible for the sports icon’s murder.
“Despite this, the investigators never lost sight of their work at hand. While the speculation was rife, the case also attracted much media attention and media leaks touching on some aspects of the investigation,” he said.
Read: Senzo Meyiwa murder: AfriForum gives Cele ultimatum as investigators say they need almost one year
“The first five suspects were arrested between 8am and 10am this morning [Monday] in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. These arrests are as a result of a multi-disciplinary integrated approach to this investigation. [The team] is working closely with the directorate for public prosecution. The South African Police Service and the prosecution team are confident that we have a watertight case against all five suspects,” he said.
Both Cele and Sitole were reluctant to divulge more details about the case, saying much would be revealed in court.
“At this point, we cannot reveal any more information as investigations are still ongoing and more arrests cannot be ruled out,” he said.
According to Cele, the arrests, which coincided with Meyiwa’s date of death six years ago, will bring closure to the family.
Meyiwa was killed while visiting his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo at her home in Vosloorus in 2014 in a suspected robbery gone wrong. A recent media report has suggested that Meyiwa’s death could have been a hit.
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