A spur to the police to solve the Meyiwa case
IT IS AN indictment of the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that, five years after the incident, nobody has yet been held responsible for the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, prompting AfriForum to take up the cudgels on behalf of the Meyiwa family.
While many have questioned AfriForum’s motives in doing so – Police Minister Bheki Cele says the organisation just wants to embarrass the justice system – the Meyiwa family has understandably welcomed its intervention.
Cele insists the police are doing all they can to solve the riddle of Meyiwa’s death, and that he is satisfied with the investigation.
How he can be satisfied given the lack of tangible results beggars belief.
Meyiwa was shot dead at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s Vosloorus home in 2014, in the presence of six other people, five of whom were adults.
While it is not suggested that any of those present were responsible for Meyiwa’s death – which apparently came during a robbery – it is difficult to accept that none was able to furnish investigators with any information that could have helped lead to the killers in five years.
While it is accepted that Cele and NPA head Shamila Batohi have been in their positions for short periods relative to the age of the crime, the lack of perceivable action in the matter is a national shame.
Meyiwa was mourned as a lost national treasure, but the actions of the police and prosecuting authorities do not lend any credence to this notion.
The Meyiwa family’s decision to turn to AfriForum echoes a sentiment felt in many parts of the country: people have lost faith in the collective criminal justice system to deliver on its mandate to deliver justice.
The police should use AfriForum’s intervention as a spur to expedite their efforts and bring the matter to finality, for it will surely be a black day in South African policing if the organisation was to solve the crime before they do.
This is not just about Senzo Meyiwa.
This is about general confidence in the quality and ability of South African policing, which sorely needs to be restored.