5 people finally arrested for Senzo Meyiwa murder

The person suspected of pulling the trigger on the gun that killed Orlando Pirates captain, Senzo Meyiwa has been arrested along with 4 other suspects, The Citizen reports.

The breakthrough in the 6-year investigation was announced by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Monday afternoon, after all five suspects were arrested earlier in the day.The arrests happened between 8am and 10 am Monday morning in Gauteng and Kwa Zulu-Natal.

According to Cele, who blamed the media for delays in the murder case, police would also be considering opening cases of defeating the ends of justice against those suspected of leaking various aspects of the investigation over the years.

Meyiwa was shot in front of his girlfriend, musician Kelly Khumalo at her Vosloorus home in 2014, opening up a frenzy of speculation on the circumstances surrounding the alleged robbery, which some believed had more to it.

According to Police Commissioner General Khehla Sithole, more suspects were expected to be arrested soon.

“Of the five suspects that the minister has just outlined, one of them is the key suspect who is suspected of having pulled the trigger in the Senzo Meyiwa Case,” said Sithole, adding that the arrest was backed up by forensic evidence connecting the suspect to the scene as well as the weapon suspected of being used.

“This investigation continues and we suspect that there would be more arrests effected.”

After years without a single arrest on the Meyiwa case, the South African Police Service established a Cold Case Unit, to deal with high profile cases which had yet to be closed.

While suspects have been arrested Cele said he hoped the arrests were the start of a process to bring closure to the Meyiwa family, he blasted the media for publishing leaked information about the case, which he suspected were attempts by insiders to derail the investigation.

“We really condemn these leaks and strongly believe that information may have been leaked in an attempt to derail the investigations. This is why moving forward, the investigation team will be considering opening a case or cases of defeating the ends of justice to ensure such leaks never occur again.”

Sithole denied the arrests were delayed to wait for the exact day of the anniversary of Meyiwa’s death, stating it was a coincidence that the arrests took place on Monday.

“It’s something that has coincidentally went together with the cracking of the case. It’s not that we have planned to make this announcement today, because it is the anniversary.

Journalists grilled Cele and Sithole on how the case could have taken this long when information about the case was widely available. “Information was there , but information doesn’t take us to court. Evidence (does),” replied Cele.

The minister was expected to update the family about the investigation on Monday evening at 6pm.