DURBAN – Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Tuesday that those claiming police were not working to crack the case of murdered Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa were “out of order”.
“Nobody should say there is nothing being done about the case,” said Cele. He said the circumstances making it difficult to resolve Meyiwa’s murder “was a story that maybe we will tell one day”.
For now, said Cele, the focus of the police had to be on resolving the case.
The minister was speaking to the media outside the Meyiwa home in Umlazi, where he had just paid his respects to the family following the death of Meyiwa’s father, Sam, who died in the early hours of Monday morning.
Sam Meyiwa had been vocal in calling for justice for his son since the talented soccer player was gunned down in an alleged botched robbery in Vosloorus in October 2014. No one has been arrested for the murder.
Photo: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA).
Before Cele’s arrival, Siyabonga Meyiwa, brother to Sam, told media that the family had been waiting for “definitive answers for a while” from police about Senzo's murder.
“People say that sometimes the wheels of justice move slowly. We are still very hopeful that the minister will assist in this instance to make sure that the perpetrators of this crime are caught and brought to book because this has gone on for far too long without any arrests being made,” said Siyabonga.
Photo: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA).
He said that an arrest would send a “very good signal”.
Sam was heartbroken by his son’s death, said Siyabonga, and for the case to remain unresolved caused him "tremendous pain".
Cele later in the day told the media how he had updated Sam just months earlier in the same family home about the case.
“[I said to him back then] it would not happen that we won’t resolve the case. Maybe let me jump the gun by saying that I repeat that statement,” said Cele.
He said that “the narrative” alleging nothing was being done about solving Senzo's murder was “out of order”.
Those adhering to the narrative would not be peddling it if they knew how much time and effort had been dedicated to solving the murder, he said.
Sam suffered a debilitating stroke last year that led to his health deteriorating. His family told African News Agency (ANA) on Monday that they were “shocked” by his death and saddened that he had died without seeing the killing of his son solved.