Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot as he moved towards the door of the house where attackers had entered, police said on Monday.
“The deceased, when he was shot, had moved towards the door when the shot was fired,” Gauteng detective unit head Maj-Gen Norman Taioe told reporters in Johannesburg.
“He was not protecting any specific person at that moment. Another person was struggling with the attacker at the door.”
Earlier there had been reports that Meyiwa had protected his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo from being shot by the robbers.
The two men entered Khumalo's home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, on Sunday night as Meyiwa and his friends were leaving, he said.
“Senzo and his friends were leaving the house when the two (attackers) entered the house. One of the attackers bumped into the first friend and a scuffle ensued.”
The attackers demanded cellphones and money, Taioe said.
He said rumours that the crime was a hit on Meyiwa were untrue.
“We do not have evidence which suggests that this was a contract killing or a hit on Mr Meyiwa.
“There was no gun aimed specifically at him.”
He said there were seven people inside the house at the time of the crime.
One shot was fired inside the house, and two more were fired randomly outside.
The attackers used a .38 revolver so no cartridges were left on the scene.
The attackers were urged to turn themselves in and their parents were challenged to turn their sons in.
“Police are not in every house, the community must assist the police,” national police commissioner Riah Phiyega said.
She had set up a multi-disciplinary task team made up of forensic, crime intelligence, and visible policing members to handle the case. An armed robbery and murder case was opened.
No arrests had been made.
A reward of up R250 000 was being offered, she said.
No preferential treatment was given to the case regarding the reward. Rewards had also been offered in two child murder cases in Reiger Park and two others in Diepsloot, she said.
“What we normally look at is the complexity of the matter.”
She said this crime had happened at night where visibility of the perpetrators was a problem.
“It's important for us to resolve (cases) such as this one that have a global appeal. It is important to speed up the investigation... but we deal with a lot of rewards on a daily basis,” she said.
Sapa