Leaked NPA doc links Kelly Khumalo to suspect in Meyiwa’s murder

A confidential National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) document — which has been confirmed as authentic — has linked Senzo Meyiwa’s girlfriend Kelly Khumalo to a suspect in the Bafana Bafana captain’s murder.

26 October, marks the sixth anniversary of the death of South Africa international Senzo Meyiwa, who was gunned down at the home of his girlfriend, singer and actress Kelly Khumalo.

Point 6 of the document, a letter from the NPA to the investigating officer in the case, Col Bongani Gininda, instructs police: “Cellphone records of Ms Kelly Khumalo indicating her communication with the accused must be obtained, as previously indicated.”

Meyiwa was killed at Khumalo’s mother’s home in Vosloorus in Ekurhuleni six years ago.

Attempts to get comment from Khumalo via phone and text message were unsuccessful. The police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It is not clear exactly when the document was drafted, with the NPA not answering questions to this effect when contacted on Tuesday afternoon.

Other requests the NPA made to police in the document, which do not relate to Khumalo, include that:

the investigating officer must file a statement detailing the events and circumstances leading to confessions made by accused 1 and accused 2 (named in court as Muzikawulahlelwa S’tembu Sibiya and Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi);
the investigating officer must indicate how the pointings out by Sibiya fit in with the facts of the case;
the cellphone communication between the accused — “before/during/after the commission of the offence” — must be obtained, inclusive of cell tower locations;
it must be established why Ekurhuleni metro police department officials, and not the police, transported the suspects to the confession;
the vehicle tracking information of a “silver Polo” for the day of the murder, October 26 2014, must be obtained, as well as how one of the accused came into possession of the vehicle;
“ballistic reports have been duplicated”; and
outstanding DNA reports from some of the suspects must be obtained.

The document accompanied the charge sheet that the NPA issued to the group on Tuesday morning, as five men appeared in the Boksburg magistrate’s court charged with Meyiwa’s murder.

Kelly Khumalo

The NPA quickly withdrew the document, saying it should not be in the public domain — but before this could happen, it had already been widely shared on social media.

Asked about the document, NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said it was a private communication between the investigating team giving instructions on what needs to be done. Its authenticity was not in question.

“Unfortunately there is a paper that slipped in which is not a public document. But the investigation continues and we hope that we will be able to plug the gaps and make sure that all the information that is needed is dealt with and we are able to receive it,” Ngwema said after Tuesday’s court appearance.

Pressed for more details on when the document was written and if it was ever acted upon, Ngwema said simply: “That is an internal document, for private internal use.”

The five suspects — who are all in prison on unrelated convictions — will appear in court again on November 27.