Senzo Meyiwa murder trial delayed again as defence granted postponement

There have been further delays in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, which was meant to kick off on Tuesday.

Lawyers for one of the accused have requested a further postponement of five days in order to consult with some witnesses and to get further particulars from the State on the statements that they received.

Five men have been in the dock for a second day this week for the 2014 murder of the Bafana Bafana captain.

Meyiwa was gunned down at the home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus East of Johannesburg.On Monday, Advocate Zandile Mshololo requested a single-day postponement to allow her time to consult with her client, Sifisokuhle Ntuli, saying that the State had withheld crucial statements until the eleventh hour.

Now she has asked the court for a further five days to prepare her defence.

“From the information that is contained in the statement, it transpired that we need to consult with the defence witnesses, some of them who are in this division and some of them who are not in this division. That, I cannot anticipate happening overnight,” Mshololo said.

But the State’s Advocate George Baloyi said that the defence was simply not ready to proceed and should not use the delivery of statements as an excuse.

Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela has granted the postponement but not without warning.

He told Advocate Mshololo that this should be the final postponement.

The trial will reconvene on 22 April.

SAD: Senzo Meyiwa blamed for his own death and here’s why

The much-anticipated documentary series about the controversial life of the slain Mzansi footballer premiered last Thursday on Netflix – and as promised, the streaming service is looking to exclusively reveal who killed the footballer after a decade of investigations.

But Mzansi has already noticed something amiss from the first episode.

It has come to social media users’ attention that the footballer was not the saint they thought he was.

Somehow, they now believe he is to blame for his own death.The five-part docu-series titled Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star features interviews with the family of the slain footie, his friends, and top AfriForum prosecutor Advocate Gerrie Nel.

The documentary came on the eve of the star’s murder trial that is expected to start in the High Court on Monday 11 April.

Five men implicated in the murder are expected to appear before the High Court judges despite them still maintaining their innocence in the murder of the star.

For so long, fans of the slain footie had been chock-slamming songstress Kelly Khumalo as the prime suspect in the murder case.

But there is no evidence presented in court or shown in the documentary that places her as the prime suspect, rather one of the victims present on the night of her married boyfriend’s murder night.

The publication has compiled some Twitter comments about the documentary where fans seemingly blame the footie for his own death.@PhutiMpyana_: “I was watching it earlier this morning and for some reason i found myself blaming Senzo for all this. I don’t know how do you blame someone who is dead for their own death , but ja.”

@mkaznt: “He created yonke leMess, next thing boom!. Akasekho now abantu he hurt are left with yonke lento all coz he wasnt a good person, Why engalahlanga uMandisa and carryon noKelly, why cheat, and make it public, Hai suka naye”

All I’m getting from this documentary so far is that Senzo just wasn’t a good person at all.

— The Bad One (@BadvocateAgain) April 10, 2022

@Malungiselelo: “He was abusing Mandisa emotionally.”

@FlowerBomb_M: “I was scared to say. He really didn’t treat those women right at all”

Senzo Meyiwa murder trial postponed

Senzo Meyiwa‘s murder trial has been postponed until Tuesday. The judge postponed to allow lawyers to consult the accused on new statements from the State.

In another way, accused five had just been ambushed by the State… to reveal such critical statements at the 11th hour,” she said.

In response to this, prosecutor George Baloyi said three witness statements had been disclosed to the defence later than the rest of the dockets because the three witnesses had feared for their lives. Baloyi said that some of these witnesses had been placed in witness protection.

Mshololo also said that she was having difficulty consulting with her client.

Ntuli is currently serving time in KwaZulu-Natal after he was convicted of the murder of an ANC ward councillor and others.

#SenzoMeyiwa's murder trial has been postponed until tomorrow. The judge postponed to allow lawyers to consult the accused on new statements from the State. pic.twitter.com/wQRa0GKzFp

— eNCA (@eNCA) April 11, 2022

Alleged Senzo Meyiwa killer sentenced to 12 years in jail

Musi Sibiya accused to have had a hand in the murder of the former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for attempted murder in another case.

Sibiya was sentenced by the Vosloorus Magistrates’ Court to 12 years of direct imprisonment on Thursday, 07 April 2022.

In a statement, National Prosecuting Authority said the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm. This is after he was convicted for attempted murder of Ntombenhle Ndaba and Mfanelo Mbatha whom he attacked in a hail of bullets, but miraculously they survived.

Sibiya was also accused of shooting his girlfriend in December 2014 after she threatened to blow the whistle on him for his alleged involvement in the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, for which he had apparently confided in the girlfriend about.The NPA welcomed the conviction and sentence and believes that 12 years imprisonment fits the crime of attempted murder.

It is significant that the convicted man is one of the accused in the case of the murder of Senzo Meyiwa, where the trial resumes within the next few days in another court on Monday 11 April.

5 things you need to know about Mandisa Mkhize who was Senzo Meyiwa’s wife

Netflix’s documentary based on the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwahas been trending on Twitter since Thursday 7 April and his wife, Mandisa Mkhize has raised some eyebrows.

The former Bafana Bafana captain married Mandisa Mkhize in March 2013 but their relationship involved tons of cheating allegedly.

Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star, the Netflix documentary shed light on how everyone knew Senzo loved women and Mandisa knew about his cheating. She appeared to be unbothered about the cheating, although she allegedly found hotel receipts in his laundry.

However, things changed when she found out that Senzo fell in love with Kelly Khumalo. Kelly later fell pregnant with Senzo’s daughter Thingo, who is now eight years old.

Another bombshell revelation from the documentary is that Senzo wanted to make Kelly his second wife. This may not have sat well with Mandisa. So, who is Mandisa?

1. MANDISA IS 34 YEARS OLD

Senzo’s wife is 34 years old but she will turn 35 on 24 September 1987.

1. MANDISA ATTENDED DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (DUT)

According to Briefly, Mandisa attended Bophelo Impilo Private School and then Ridge Park College. She later attended Durban University of Technology (DUT) where she studied towards her Diploma of Human Resources and her degree in Business Administration.

1. SHE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE ‘WELL OFF’

Mandisa is considered to come from a wealthy family.

1. MANDISA HAS A DAUGHTER

Mandisa and Senzo share a daughter named Nana. Nana would be 16 this year. She was allegedly “living in poverty” because her donors Red Farm pulled her funding but former referee Andile “Ace” Ncobo is reportedly assisting her with R1500 a month until she turns 21.

5. SHE ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO PUSH KELLY OFF THE ROAD

Kelly Khumalo claimed Mandisa was stalking her and once tried to push her off the road. The singer did not know Senzo was married when she was dating him until that incident.

“We were in a convoy with Senzo and this woman comes up and is like ‘what the hell’ and then I phone him. Like due, what the hell is going on? So we all stopped on the side of the road, I came out to say ‘okay sisi, what is the problem? Why are you trying to push me off the road? Thats when it came out,” said Kelly in a previous interview shown on the Netflix documentary.

“When she started calling me names…you stole my husband. I’m like woah,” she continued.

Kelly thought Senzo was leaving Mandisa for her but he was allegedly spending time with Mandisa behind her back.

Senzo Meyiwa’s murder trial begins on Monday

Former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa’s murder trial is finally set to start. The trial is expected to begin on Monday in the High Court.

The five accused are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, possession of firearms without a licence, and possession of ammunition.

During pre-trial proceedings earlier this year, four of the accused indicated that they had changed lawyers and intended to bring a special plea on Monday. It’s been eight years since the shocking murder of Meyiwa.

Mzansi react to late Senzo Meyiwa’s documentary

Senzo Meyiwa’s life and murder were compiled in a Netflix doccie series which was premiered on the 7th of April.

The South African footballer died in 2014, and the murderers are yet to be unearthed despite several investigations.

Some people who have viewed the documentary have taken to Twitter to express their thought about the doccie-series.

“#SenzoMeyiwa Lies in this case prove there is someone being protected! Everyone in the house should/must have one version of events leading to the shooting of events. Longwe and the two Khumalo sisters have three different statements which have changed in years. Arrest them,” a tweep wrote.

So the minute the brother went for help to AfriForum the SA police had a breakthrough? Smells fishy. It feels like they are trying to distract everyone from the truth by blaming others. #senzo #senzomurderofasoccerstar #SenzoMeyiwa pic.twitter.com/4qpaGud2WO

— Liz (@Liz7piz) April 7, 2022

There are so many things that don't make sense….only Kelly's phone was taken by robbers, she refused her son to be interviewed by police, the house was cleaned to wipe evidence #SenzoMeyiwa

— Yezzy. (@Yeezy_Dizzle) April 7, 2022

“Kelly: My child saw the killers of Senzo, he even recognized them on tv”. #SenzoMeyiwa and boom Kelly doesn’t know the killers? Who is fooling who here? pic.twitter.com/j4Gavt6WV0

— Sir Nungu (@NunguSompisi) April 7, 2022

#SenzoMeyiwa A robbery happens, someone is short. Who do you call first? Why didn’t the robbers shoot Longwe when he forced his way outside? What led to Senzo being shot? After the robbery, Longwe still had his phone? Who and what was robbed? pic.twitter.com/2QzwIIgJiD

— Sir Nungu (@NunguSompisi) April 7, 2022

Longwe Twala says he ran out to call for help……but he realized that his phone was in the house so he couldn't find any help as people were sleeping……..forward to later Longwe Twala says robbers couldn't take his phone cause he ran out with!!This is kak County #SenzoMeyiwa pic.twitter.com/YPl82ZmR8q

— Ferry Bouman (@natty_azzuro) April 7, 2022

#SenzoMeyiwa Longwe changed his statement and contradicted his very own version of events. Why is he not arrested. When robbers storm into the house, they will never allow anyone to go outside because he will alert others. Longwe left robbers in the house .. ?? pic.twitter.com/9m5RmAciAJ

— Sir Nungu (@NunguSompisi) April 7, 2022

Senzo Meyiwa’s family speaks on stars’ documentary

“The documentary is about Senzo’s life – from childhood till death,” said Ntombifuthi Meyiwa. “But the main focus of the series is to bring Senzo’s killers to book!” Senzo Meyiwa’s mum has agreed to a documentary about the late soccer star’s life for a very solid reason.

The family and friends of Senzo have poured their hearts out on the upcoming Netflix five-part documentary, titled Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star. Ntombifuthi said Netflix approached her and promised a lump sum of money.

“I needed the money and I agreed to do it, but we hope the series will finally see the killers being brought to justice for Senzo’s murder,” she said. She added that she started filming with Netflix in 2019. A number of neighbours and family members were also interviewed. And since she signed a confidentiality clause, she could not disclose all details.

“In the documentary, I explain how Senzo’s death affected my husband, Sam’s health, and how it eventually led to his death.“I also explain how it is currently affecting my health and has put the family back in poverty,” said Ntombifuthi.

She said life is now hard for them because Senzo was the breadwinner. “Now that he’s gone, we largely depend on donations from private organisations. The whole ordeal is still overwhelming.”

Senzo’s daughter, Namhla, said: “I am happy with the documentary and hope it will finally bring justice. I hope the public will get to see how difficult my life has been after my father’s death.”

She said she was grateful to former referee Andile “Ace” Ngcobo and the Red Ants for helping her financially. A number of people, including self-published author Soweto Mandlanzi, Zamokwakhe Nzama, sportsman Robert Marawa, Minister Fikile Mbalula and former Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya, were expected to appear.

Soweto said: “I was approached by Netflix. Our interview was based on the fact that I had written the book Decoding 666_9 The inexplicable Life of Senzo Meyiwa, and interviewed a number of his friends.

“I’ve given them whatever I could but I feel that I still need to do my own documentary to cover all angles.” Zamokwakhe said: “I dated Senzo’s former girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, so Netflix wanted to know if she has a violent nature and I told the truth. The public will recall that I was attacked by Kelly at a Durban hotel, an incident that was widely reported.”

Senzo was gunned down at Kelly’s mother’s home in 2014 in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni. It was reported that Kelly and her sister, Zandie Khumalo-Gumede, were in the house at the time. However, they are not in the documentary.

Zandie’s manager and husband Mhlo Gumede said: “I am aware of the docu-series and I can confirm that Zandie is not part of it. She was never approached and I hope it does not insinuate anything.”

He said if the documentary was about Senzo’s murder, then those who were present should have been interviewed.

Bongani Gxekwa from Netflix confirmed that Zandie and Kelly were not included. “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to give much detail,” he said.

WATCH: Late Senzo Meyiwa’s wife Mandisa Mkhize’s dance moves will leave in stitches

We last read about the late soccer star’s wife Mandisa Mkhize, when she was seen living large last November 2021 through her Instagram posts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by mandisa mkhize (@mandisamkhize01)

The beautiful Mandisa married Senzo Meyiwa in March 2013. Not even a year after they tied a knot Senzo was reported to be dating South African’s favourite musician Kelly Khumalo, whom we learnt later that they have a child together.

We don’t have answers to why Mandisa calls herself Mkhize and not Meyiwa as they were married, but perhaps it is because the Soccer star was rumoured to have plans of divorcing his wife. On her interview with a local publication Mandisa revealed to have move out of the home they shared with Senzo.

Shocking discovery in Senzo Meyiwa’s murder – Killer was close to Kelly Khumalo

The late Bafana Bafana captain, Senzo Meyiwa, died more than seven years ago, but his murder investigation is yet to be completed. Now, the case takes an interesting twist in emerging reports.

A local publication reports, the family’s lawyer, Advocate Malesela Teffo applied to the National Director of Public Prosecutions, requesting that the ongoing prosecutions for the case be stopped. This is because he is convinced that the five people facing charges are not the real suspects.

The report also states that the gun that discharged the bullet that killed him was in the possession of someone in the house. The footballer was killed at the home of his then girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, and it is alleged that there were seven witnesses in the house when it happened, so the weapon was brought by one of them.

In an interview with SABC News, Advocate Teffo shared that he was being pressured to stop representing the family. He was hired by Senzo’s brother Sfiso Meyiwa around October 2020, at which point he started to assist as much as he could.

However, he was met with a lot of hostility from the Minister of Police Bheki Cele and the National Commissioner Khehla Sithole. They wanted him to terminate his mandate, and it got so nasty that he was arrested by the police for frivolous reasons.

He detailed that he had conducted his own investigation, as he has a background in the police service, and found out that the two aforementioned heads of the police service were interfering with the investigation.

He allegedly found in his investigation that there were two separate investigations. One was opened in 2014, and another was opened in 2019.

The first case theorised that there were intruders in the house when Senzo was killed. The same case also thought he was shot by mistake, and there were intruders. But the second case had a completely different theory, that there were no intruders, but there were eight adults in the house on the day, including the deceased.

Fans now think that there are sinister forces trying to prevent the advocate from uncovering the truth about who killed the football star. They believe that his life may be endangered by the fact that he went public with his revelations, and are asking that he be protected at all costs.

It remains a wonder who would want so badly for the case to disappear, enough to try to stop the advocates efforts. At this point, all that fans have is some speculation, as they can almost bet that the instructions to frustrate Advocate Teffo and get him to drop the case, must be coming from higher up the chain.

This comes shortly after the deceased’s brother Sfiso spoke up saying that they – the family – know who killed his brother and so do the police. He said that he did not understand why the police refused to arrest the suspect, even though they have the information.

Fans of the late star have put two and two together, saying it now makes sense why the case has taken so long to be resolved. Seven years down the line, and it looks like someone is being protected by the police service.