DAILY SUN FRONT PAGE
"Senzo suspect walks!" - Daily Sun
Daily Sun (November 12 2014) - AFTER TEN days behind bars, Zamokuhle Mbatha is a free man.
In court, his mother sobbed uncontrollably when the judge ordered her son to be released
immediately.
BUT AT HIS HOUSE IN KZN, SENZO'S HEARTBROKEN
FATHER IS MOURNING HIS SON AS IF HE HAD DIED ONLY YESTERDAY.
"We found comfort in the knowledge that the police had made an arrest. But today, all of that was taken away from us and the wounds were opened again," said Sam Meyiwa, the father of the late Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates football player, Senzo Meyiwa.
He said he hopes the police know what they are doing and that they will arrest the person who killed his son soon.
"I am still pleading with the nation to help us find the person who murdered Senzo," said Sam.
Zamokuhle's family criticised cops for rushing to make an arrest after charges against the 25-year-old man were dropped in the Boksburg Magistrates Court yesterday because there was no evidence linking him to the murder. Zamokuhle was not in court.
Magistrate Daniel Thulare asked South Africans to remain calm after the charges were withdrawn.
He said anger was a natural response but people should allow justice to take its course.
Prosecutor Getrude Market told the court the state wanted to temporarily withdraw charges against Zamokuhle because of new developments.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube told reporters outside court: "In fairness, we can't keep him in custody.
There are loopholes in the evidence.
There were many discrepancies and inconsistencies."
Mncube said the state had no chance of a successful conviction against Zamokuhle.
Zamokuhle's cousin, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, told Daily Sun she was happy Zamokuhle will not spend another day in jail.
"My cousin spent 10 days in jail for something he didn't do," she said.
Daily Sun spoke to another of Zamokuhle's close relatives who did not want to be named.
He said Zamokuhle has been taken to KZN for his safety and to recover from the trauma he has gone through.
Four of Zamokuhle's friends who also did not want to be named said they were with Zamokuhle the night Senzo was shot.
"We were all chilling together," said one of them.
"On the night Senzo was shot we were not drinking."
He said a few days after the shooting police officers in civilian clothes came to his shack and arrested him.
"We never thought he could be arrested for murder," the friend said.
A woman who owns the tavern where Zamokuhle watched football said: "He used to come and drink beer at my place. Every weekend he would come dressed in Orlando Pirates kit and watch the game.
"I couldn't believe it when I was told he had been arrested."
Zamokuhle's angry neighbour said the police had made a terrible mistake.
"He was not a person to be accused of such crime.
"He loved his work at the car wash," she said.
She said he even washed Kelly's cars sometimes.
Daily Sun sangoma Makhosi Dumezweni said he threw the bones more than three times and they indicated the police had the wrong man.
"The police are under pressure to make an arrest but they must be patient," said Dumezweni.
"Someone who was very close to Senzo knows the truth and that person needs to come forward and speak up so that Senzo's soul can rest in peace and his loved one can find closure," said Dumezweni.
But Orlando Pirates supporter Zanele Jiyane, who was one of a group of fans who protested outside court, said she was disappointed that the
suspect was set free.
Senzo was killed in an alleged robbery while visiting his singer girlfriend Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni last month.
See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....
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