Senzo Meyiwa

Senzo Meyiwa
Personal information
Full nameSenzo Robert Meyiwa
Date of birth24 September 1987
Place of birthDurban, South Africa
Date of death26 October 2014 (aged 27)
Place of deathVosloorus, South Africa
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Youth career
London Cosmos (South Africa)
2002–2005Orlando Pirates
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2005–2014Orlando Pirates109[1][2](0)
National team
2013–2014South Africa7[3](0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Senzo Robert Meyiwa (24 September 1987 – 26 October 2014) was a South African footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Orlando Pirates in the Premier Soccer League,[4] and for the South Africa national team.

International career

Meyiwa made his debut for South Africa on 2 June 2013 in a 2–0 away victory against Lesotho.[5][6] He was included in the South African squad led by manager Gordon Igesund for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations,[7] but made no appearances. For the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, he played three times, with his last match being a 0–0 draw against Congo.[8][9]

Death

Main article: Death of Senzo Meyiwa

On 26 October 2014, police reported that two men entered a house in the Vosloorus township around 8:00pm local time, in which Meyiwa was shot in the presence of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, following an altercation, while one man waited outside. Following the shooting all three suspects fled on foot from the scene. He was declared dead on arrival at hospital in Johannesburg.[10][11]

As a mark of respect, the Soweto derby match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates due to be played on 1 November 2014 was postponed.[12][13] The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, mourned the loss of Meyiwa and called for his killers to be found.[14] President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter tweeted his condolences, calling the death of Meyiwa a "senseless, tragic loss."[15]  The captain of the Spanish national football team, Iker Casillas, posted a picture on Instagram of Meyiwa holding Casillas' Real Madrid C.F. jersey that was exchanged with Meyiwa when Spain played against South Africa in an international match.[16] South African cricket captains Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers both expressed their condolences.[17]

The police offered a reward of 250,000 rand for information.[14] On 31 October 2014 murder suspect, Zanokuhle Mbatha, appeared in court in South Africa over the killing of Meyiwa and is scheduled to appear again on 11 November 2014.[18]

Meyiwa received a provincial funeral, the keynote proceedings were held at Moses Mabhida Stadium, prior to that Meyiwa’s body received a guard of honor in the streets as it was driven from Umlazi his home to the stadium, he was buried at the Hero’s acre in Chesterville.[19]

Age controversy

In November 2014, it was reported that Meyiwa had apparently lied about his real age throughout his professional career.[20] According to the school register he was born in 1984 and therefore in fact 30 and not 27 at the time of his death.

References

  1. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa". www.nationalfootballteams.com. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa". www.mtnfootball.com. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa". National Football Teams. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa profile". MTN Football. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa profile". Kickoff. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Lesotho 0–2 South Africa". Yahoo! News. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Igesund announces Afcon squad". Kickoff. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Bafana still control own destiny". News24. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Torchia, Christopher (26 October 2014). "South Africa goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa killed". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ↑ Johnston, Ian (26 October 2014). "Senzo Meyiwa shot dead". The Independent. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa Has Been Confirmed Being Shot Dead". South Africa. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Soweto Derby postponed". www.kaizerchiefs.com. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Motsoeneng, Tiisetso (27 October 2014). "South Africa captain shot dead protecting girlfriend". Reuters. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Senzo Meyiwa shooting: South African president leads tributes to goalkeeper". The Guardian. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Blatter pays tribute to Meyiwa". Sport24. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Nicolaides, Gia; Wort, Tamsin (28 October 2014). "SOCIAL MEDIA ABUZZ WITH TRIBUTES FOR SENZO MEYIWA". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla pay tribute to Senzo Meyiwa". The Cricket Country. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Suspect in court in S Africa over Senzo Meyiwa killing". BBC News. 31 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "Senzo Meyiwa's funeral: 'Mandisa, may God be with you'". Sunday World. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Newspaper: Meyiwa ‘lied’ about his age". IOL News. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.

External links