Johannesburg - Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has appealed to sports stars to choose their friends cautiously, saying fame attracts “unholy companions”.
In what could be construed as a veiled reference to the ill-fated relationship between slain Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa and his singer girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, Mbalula warned soccer players to choose carefully who they go out with.
Meyiwa was shot dead on Sunday night while visiting Khumalo at her mother’s home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.
“Soccer players, your support and fame attract unholy friends and companions. These unholy friends come to us, but they are the wolves in sheepskin,” Mbalula said on Thursday.
He was addressing mourners at the joint memorial service for Meyiwa, 800m track star Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and welterweight boxer Phindile Mwelase at the Standard Bank Arena in Joburg.
Mbalula, who was married, previously found himself entangled in a nasty relationship with a woman who claimed to be carrying his child. Mbalula admitted to the extramarital affair, but claimed the woman had tried to extort money from him in exchange for her silence.
Khumalo, who has a son with convicted killer, hip-hop star Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and a daughter with the married Meyiwa, has been disparaged by people commenting on social media.
Meyiwa’s father also told the media “that girl” would not be allowed at his son’s funeral in Durban on Saturday. However, he later said she would be, but Khumalo indicated through her biographer that she would not be attending.
The Star reported on Thursday that Meyiwa’s family were considering legal action to compel Khumalo to hand over the soccer star’s personal belongings, including his clothes and two vehicles.
Sources said Khumalo flatly refused to give the Meyiwas their son’s property when they went to the townhouse the pair shared in Mulbarton, Joburg.
The outspoken Mbalula told mourners on Thursday that Meyiwa’s killers would be caught and prosecuted. “You (killers) can run but you can’t hide…” he said. “This nation will never be at ease until we’ve found them, and the machinery of justice is grinding. Each one of us has the responsibility because somewhere, somehow, someone knows who killed Senzo Meyiwa.”
To rapturous applause, Mbalula added: “If they are your friends, if they are your boyfriends, release them before we catch them. If they are distant relatives, advise them to come to the fore.
“We must consolidate our resolve as a nation to clean our streets of criminals, and let us not celebrate criminals. Let a criminal remain a criminal and not a role model.”
The Star on Monday reported that two men were held for questioning. The following day, the police said they had been released as they could not be linked to the crime.
Mbalula said Meyiwa’s murder must serve as a catalyst to build a hall of fame to induct sports heroes in South Africa.
“We are starting next year to construct a national hall of fame to salute our sporting heroes,” Mbalula added.
Earlier, SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan called for the promulgation of a law to remove illegal guns. “We will take those guns to the furnace and build a statue of Senzo Meyiwa.”
Jordaan said Safa intended to unveil the statue before the Africa Cup of Nations tournament next year.
Police have offered a R250 000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers. The killers’ identikits have been issued and Meyiwa’s family have hired 10 private investigators to help the police.
Malaudzi and Mwelase will also be buried on Saturday.
Investigations are continuing.
The Star