On the evening of October 26, 2014, the South African football fraternity was left in shock following the brutal murder of Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa.
The Orlando Pirates goalkeeper met his untimely death just a day after turning out for the Buccaneers in a PSL match against Ajax Cape Town in which the Soweto giants won 4-1.
Meyiwa was shot dead while visiting his then-girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, a popular singer, at her home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.
The goalkeeper was in the presence of Kelly, her sister Zandile Gumede, their mum Gladness Khumalo, Zandile’s then-boyfriend Longwe Twala, and Meyiwa’s close friends Tumelo Madlala and Mthokozisi Twala, as well as two minors.
No justice a decade after the murder of ex-Bafana skipper
However, 10 years after his murder, justice has never been served even after five men were arrested in connection with the incident and have been on trial since 2022.
At the time of his murder, Meyiwa had been enjoying a great season with Pirates, having played every minute for the Bucs while he had also featured in four straight games for Bafana Bafana prior to his killing.
It had been the reward for his hard work and patience, having been promoted to the Pirates senior team in 2005 when Williams Okpara retired.
He made his debut in November 2006 against his hometown club AmaZulu but it ended on a sour note as he had to be substituted after suffering an injury.
Mayiwa had to be patient to get his opportunities at Pirates
Meyiwa had to wait until the 2007-08 season to get an extended run in the team following the arrival of coach Owen Da Gama, seeing him play 25 games that campaign.
He was back on the fringes again the following season following the signing of Moeneeb Josephs in 2008, who was preferred ahead of him for four years, before he got his big break again in the 2012-13 campaign, becoming a mainstay in the team until his untimely demise at the age of 30.
Meyiwa, who had started 157 games for Pirates at the time of his death, had won the PSL title twice, as many Nedbank Cups, MTN8 and Telkom Knockout.
