MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) — South African superstar soccer goalie Senzo Meyiwa was fatally shot on Sunday during an attempted armed robbery at a home outside Johannesburg, the Guardian reported.
South African police noted that Meyiwa, 27, was killed in a house in Vosloorus Township, 20 kilometers outside Johannesburg at around 8pm Sunday after an altercation with two armed men. The men had forcibly entered the home while a third accomplice waited outside.
The three men fled following the gunfire; their present whereabouts are unknown.
The police noted that there were six other people in the house during the attack, including Meyiwa’s girlfriend, local pop singer Kelly Khumalo. They were unharmed. A local sports news editor told Sky News that “two men came inside [the house] and started demanding goods and cell phones. It was when Senzo was trying to defend Kelly, who apparently the gun was being pointed at, when he was shot.” The police are treating the incident as an attempted robbery.
Police tweeted that they “we will do all we can to bring Meyiwa's killers to book.”
Miyiwa’s soccer club, the Orlando Pirates, released a statement noting that it “has learned with sadness about the untimely death of our number one goalkeeper and current captain Senzo Meyiwa.” Club officials have told the press that Miyiwa’s death is not just a personal tragedy, but a “loss to the nation,” the Guardian said.
South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, released a press statement about the athlete’s death, noting that “words cannot express the nation’s shock at this loss,” and that “law enforcement authorities must leave no stone unturned in finding his killers and bringing them to justice.”
Miyiwa is remembered by fellow athletes as an excellent player, a great rotational captain, and a kind person.
The murder highlights South Africa’s struggle with high levels of gun violence and crime, often associated with its infamous townships, or poor black neighborhoods. More than 17,000 people have been murdered in South Africa between 2013 and 2014, police statistics note. Miyiwa’s shooting death comes after the highly publicized trial of athlete Oscar Pistorius, who says he shot his girlfriend by mistake, believing her to be an intruder to his home.
