Police on Saturday said they were making “good” progress that could lead to a breakthrough in the Senzo Meyiwa murder probe - a claim that was immediately rubbished by a top Buccaneers official.
In another twist, Meyiwa’s father, Samuel, on Saturday made sensational claims that his son’s death was a “hit” carried out by “hit-men” from KwaZulu-Natal as he disclosed how the police were hot on their heels.
Samuel Meyiwa said the police had visited him two weeks ago at his Umlazi home to assure him that two men would be arrested soon.
He said police had received a new lead in their investigation and are in hot pursuit.
“These are well-known killers who get paid for their service,” he said.
National police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale on Saturday told The Sunday Independent the police “are still busy with the investigation. It is progressing very well.
“We appreciate that members of the media would like us to provide details of our investigation but it is not desirable to divulge information about each and every step of our investigation.
“Those details will emerge in court at the appropriate time.”
Makgale could, however, not say how many suspects the task team was looking at. He also could not say how soon the police would bring their suspects to court.
He refused to answer any further questions and repeatedly said “we are busy with the investigation”, insisting the police will provide feedback “when appropriate”.
However, an influential Orlando Pirates insider, who has an intimate knowledge of the Meyiwa investigation, said: “There is no new information and I can tell you that no progress has been made since the last time, when they jumped the gun” by arresting (Zamokuhle) Mbatha.
The Pirates official said the police would have rushed to arrest any suspect if they had made any progress because of the national and international interest the case had attracted.
In the wake of a massive lawsuit launched against Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) by a man wrongly held over the killing of the Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain, the police appear not too convincing about their investigation.
Mbatha, who was detained and freed shortly after Meyiwa’s death in October last year, is claiming R10 million from Nhleko and the NPA.
Meyiwa was shot dead on October 26 at the family home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo in what has been described as a robbery gone wrong.
Days after the incident, police questioned 13 people in connection with the shooting, but all were later released.
When the police nabbed Mbatha, national head of detective services Lieutenant-General Vineshkumar Moonoo said the police were confident he was linked to the murder “and will be charged with murder and robbery”. But he was released without being charged after spending 13 days in the police cells.
Moonoo was appointed to lead a special task team consisting of various senior detectives from national, provincial and local offices.
In papers filed in the Johannesburg High Court, Mbatha said Moonoo’s statement that the police were “sure” he was one of the suspects involved in the (Meyiwa) murder and were confident that he was linked to the crime, was made with the intention to defame him.
The South African Football Association’s advocate, Norman Arendse, said it was “disappointing and disheartening that the police could not make any progress in the case. This is a high profile case and nothing is coming forth.”
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has previously warned the police not to rush into making arrests despite political or public pressure.
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) told a South African Police Union (Sapu) conference in Pretoria in November the degradation of professionalism in the SAPS was proving to be a stumbling block in tackling crime.
ISS researcher Dr Johan Burger said political interference was hobbling the crucial divisions in the police force such as investigations, administration, detective services and crime intelligence.
“One of the key aspects of the police is the crime intelligence unit. We have seen a massive drop in intelligence reports, indicating that not much information is being gathered,” said Burger.
Burger lamented the lack of professionals in the police force. “Some people who are working in the police force shouldn’t be there because they are not skilled. The matter needs to be addressed urgently.”
Sapu reiterated the points made by Burger, arguing that more effort needed to be made to repair the deficiencies in the police force.
“One of the major problems we are seeing is the task teams that are being set up all over the country when major incidents occur,” said Sapu president Mpho Kwinika.
He said task teams were infringing on the ability of detective teams working on cases to do their jobs.
“Allow them to work. They have sources, sources have information, and information leads to successful arrests. When you bring in someone from Pretoria to investigate something in KwaZulu-Natal, they will not be able to get information because people do not know them.”
Sunday Independent