Lerato Mbhiza
THE Pretoria High Court learned how police made an application for the arrest of singer Kelly Khumalo in connection with the murder of her lover, football star Senzo Meyiwa after accused 1 and 2 – Muzi Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi – implicated her, as the person who ordered the killing of the former soccer star.
The revelation was made by lead investigator in the Meyiwa murder case, Brigadier Bongani Gininda in court on Wednesday afternoon.
Meyiwa was killed at Khumalo’s mother’s home in October 2014 in what police initially believed was a robbery gone wrong.
Five men are standing trial for the murder.
Gininda said strides were made by police to have her arrested, including an application for a J50 warrant of arrest that was not signed.
He said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) made the call: “A decision was taken at that time that these are the people that must be indicted, and that is accused one to five. I cannot disclose further details in terms of my discussion with the NPA, but there were certain things that had to be looked into insofar as Ms Kelly Khumalo.”
While Khumalo was implicated by the accused as the mastermind, Section 219 of the Criminal Procedure Act states that no confession made by any person can be admissible as evidence against another.
In light of this, it’s yet to be seen whether police will continue to pursue Khumalo to have her day in court.
According to eyewitnesses, who were present the night Meyiwa was shot and killed, two intruders allegedly entered the house and demanded cell phones and money before a scuffle ensued during which Meyiwa was fatally wounded.
As the trial-within-a-trial looking into the admissibility of confession statements continued, Gininda told the court that their investigation revealed that Ntanzi was the taller intruder that entered the house after accused No 3, Mthobisi Mncube.
“The suspect made a confession to a commissioned officer on the 19th of June and later made a further confession in the presence of his attorney and to a magistrate in Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on the 24th of June. Through the confession it does appear that this suspect is the suspect that was described as tall and slender who came into the house,” says Gininda.
“He also implicated Miss Kelly Khumalo as the person who gave the order to kill Senzo Meyiwa,” he said.
This is the second time Kelly’s name has been mentioned in the trial after cellphone experts, Colonel Lambertus Steyntoldcthe court, previously told the court that cell phone records showed calls between the number being used by accused 5, Fisokuhle Ntuli and a number registered in Kelly’s name.
According to Steyn, the calls took place at least on two occasions before Meyiwa’s October 2014 murder – the first time on the 2nd of August in 2014, followed by another call on the 15 of October, exactly 11 days before the incident.
The contents of the conversation have remained a mystery to the investigators.
Gininda said according to accused 1, Muzi Sibiya’s confession, he was standing outside at the time the former Bafana Bafana was shot and killed, although he named Marco Buthelezi as the person who killed Meyiwa.
He said their investigation has, however, shown accused 3, Mncube as the person who pulled the trigger and killed the former soccer star.
He added that the photos downloaded from Mncube’s phone revealed that on the day, the 3rd accused was wearing clothes matching the description of the man who entered the house carrying a gun, spotting dreadlocks.
“He is also the same suspect that shot the deceased during the struggle. Evidence also shows that he is Zulu speaking. In fact, all the accused in this matter are Zulu speaking and are known to each other. Photos were equally found of the murder weapon used in the killing of Senzo Meyiwa,” said Gininda.
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