Today marks seven years since Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa was killed. That’s seven years of what appeared to be a bungled police investigation. It is seven years of speculation that continues to grip the nation. Importantly, it is seven years of a family that is yet to find answers about what happened to their beloved son.
To this day many are deeply troubled, and rightfully so, as to how anyone, let alone a footballing hero, could be killed in a house where several witnesses were present and years later the truth of what happened is yet to come out.
Perhaps part of the challenge can be found in the astonishing statements made by Meyiwa’s brother, Sifiso, who yesterday claimed that not one of the five suspects who appeared in court had anything to do with the murder.
The five were arrested last year, following intense public pressure on authorities to solve the case. Their trial is set down for April next year.
Yet, in what ought to have been a moment of hope that the trial was finally to go ahead, Sifiso claimed that those in custody were effectively being framed by the police to protect the real killers.
There is, of course, no evidence in the public domain to suggest that this is indeed the case. However, it is the alleged source of Sifiso’s claims that we should take a closer look at. He claimed that the family had been receiving information from the police which when viewed holistically made them believe that the men soon to stand trial, had nothing to do with the murder.
The content of such information is unknown and its credibility is untested.
Yet it remains a matter of serious concern. It suggests at the very least that there may be members of the police who either hold information contrary to that which is being presented to court or who want the family to believe that they do.
The question is why?
It is difficult not to view the family’s latest allegations in the context of media reports last year which suggested that this case had been the subject of infighting between different groups of investigators in the police service.
Whether indeed they are true or not, the damage inflicted by such allegations against the police is nonetheless significant. They create a public impression that the conduct of the police in this case has been questionable, and by extension, the credibility of their investigation.
This is why we believe that they cannot be ignored. They must be investigated.
Ultimately, the nation deserves to know if indeed those entrusted with this investigation have, at various times, betrayed the oath they took to deliver justice.
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