Johannesburg - A Gauteng man who was “falsely accused” of murdering Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa is suing Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and the National Prosecuting Authority for R10 million.
Zamokuhle Innocent Mbatha was linked to the murder on October 29 last year – four days after Meyiwa was shot and killed in the home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s mother in Vosloorus.
At the time, police acted on information, allegedly from Khumalo and others in the house who witnessed the shooting, that the alleged killer had dreadlocks.
Based on that piece of information, a police identikit was issued.
Mbatha, who lives near the crime scene, was linked to the murder because he also had dreadlocks.
He was kept in custody for 13 days before charges against him were withdrawn.
The police have detained and questioned 13 other people but have not made a breakthrough.
Mbatha is suing Nhleko for R7.5m – R5m for defamation and R2.5m for unlawful and wrongful arrest.
The defamation lawsuit followed a statement that head of detectives Lieutenant-General Vinesh Moonoo made to the media on November 3 following his arrest on October 29.
In papers filed in the High Court in Joburg, Mbatha said Moonoo had told the world that: “We (the police) are sure that the person we have charged is one of the suspects involved in the incident.
“We are confident he is linked to the crime and he will be charged with murder and robbery.”
Mbatha says the statement was made with the intention to defame him and “injure his reputation”.
“The statement was understood by members of the public, especially soccer fans, both nationally and abroad, and was intended by Moonoo to mean that I was a criminal who had murdered Senzo Meyiwa – the Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and captain.
“When Moonoo made the statement, he was acting within the course and scope of his employment with the South African Police Service. As a result of the publication of the defamatory statement, the members of the public wanted to kill me and members of my family,” he said.
Mbatha said he had to leave his Vosloorus home for his own safety after he received threats.
NPA head Mxolisi Nxasana is separately being sued for R2.5m for malicious prosecution.
In his combined lawsuit, Mbatha argued that the police had failed to ascertain whether they had a strong case against him.
He made his first appearance in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on October 31, charged with murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
He also said he was shoved into a police van “without an explanation or reason” during his arrest on October 29.
Mbatha pointed out that his arrest was humiliating as it was “in full view of the public”.
He was remanded to November 11, when the charges were withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.
Mbatha argued that the investigating officer and his colleagues “know or ought to have known that no reasonable or objective grounds or justification” existed for his continued detention.
He took a swipe at the prosecution authorities for allegedly having failed to identify weaknesses in the police docket.
On Thursday, Nhleko’s spokesman, Musa Zondi, said they would deal with the matter in court. The NPA’s Velekhaya Mgobhozi confirmed that their office had received a summons on April 17.
Mbatha’s lawyer, Mxolisi Ndwandwe, said they were waiting for the NPA and the police minister to respond.
The Star