Bafana captain shot dead

Safa spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi confirmed the 27-year-old had been has been shot dead.

Details of the incident were unclear at this stage. Captain of both club and country, Meyiwa played for Orlando Pirates on Saturday at Orlando stadium in their Telkom Knockout 4-1 quarterfinal win over Ajax Cape Town. Banyana Banyana captain Janine van Wyk tweeted : "OMG more bad news! @BafanaBafana & @Orlando_Pirates Captain Senzo Meyiwa has been shot dead? I am lost for words! RIP Captain." Fellow Bafana player Dean Furman tweeted: "Beyond devastated at the loss of our captain & friend Senzo Meyiwa. thoughts & prayers are with his family & friends at this terrible time." Former Pirates teammate, Andile Jali, now playing in Belgium for K.V. Oostende, said on twitter that he spoke to Meyiwa earlier on Sunday afternoon.

First Jali tweeted : "People of South Africa please tell me this is not true," before tweeting nine minutes later : "Just got a call and I was sleeping but now I can't sleep because of what I just had [sic]." Jali ended with : "I can't believe this now after talking to him this afternoon but y yyyyyyy." It was the second death of a South African sportsman in a matter of days, after former 800 metre Olympic silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was killed in a car crash on Friday morning.

Sport minister Fikile Mbalula said the ministry would be in contact with Meyiwa's family before issuing a full statement.

"The Minister of Sports and Recreation, Minister Fikile Mbalula, has with deep sorrow taken note of widely publicised reports of the passing away of Orlando Pirates and South African Goal keeper, Senzo Meyiwa," the ministry said in a brief statement.

"The Ministry is currently reaching out to his family and his club and will issue a full statement in due course."