This month marks 10 years since Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was tragically killed, writes Nick Said.

October marks 10 years since the tragic murder of Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, a stain on the history of our football and a heartbreaking moment, the scars of which are still felt today.

A decade on and there is an ongoing trial around the shooting of the popular national team captain, who was gunned down at the home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus on 26 October 2014.

It appeared to be a robbery gone wrong, with three suspects initially sought and Zamokuhle Mbatha arrested five days later, though he was freed weeks later due to a lack of evidence. Meyiwa’s friend Tumelo Waka Madlala, who was at the house, said the keeper was shot while trying to stop the intruders.

“As they were running away, we tried to stop them and that is when they shot him at point blank range,” Madlala told the Associated Press.

Fast forward 10 years and there are five men in the dock for his killing, though all deny their involvement.

Four of the men are behind bars serving sentences for unrelated crimes, including attempted murder, murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya is serving a 12-year sentence for an unrelated attempted murder, and allegedly confided in his girlfriend and said he had been involved in the Meyiwa murder.

He later shot her. Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi is the second accused but the only one without any prior convictions.

He was working on the mines in the North West Province at the time of his arrest, and says he was in KwaZulu-Natal when Meyiwa was killed.

He is alleged to have confessed to police over the murder, but later said this had been done under duress and while he was being tortured.

Mthobisi Prince Mncube was arrested on an unrelated murder charge four months after the Meyiwa murder, with the weapon used to kill the goalkeeper allegedly found in his possession.

The same gun that was used in the killing was linked to the murder of taxi boss Reggie Mohlala that occurred in January 2015.

Mncube is currently serving a 30-year sentence for Mohlala’s murder. Mthokoziseni Maphisa was in custody for a separate crime, the details of which have not been revealed.

He is not accused of being present at the killing of Meyiwa but is alleged to have told a confidant he was connected to the crime by acting as a look-out on the night.

Fisokuhle Ntuli has already been convicted on six counts of murder in other cases and is currently serving six life sentences and 39 years.

He was convicted of killing African National Congress councilor Thami Nyembe in 2016 and following that the murder of three brothers in 2017 who would testify against him.

He was also convicted for the 2018 murder of Sphamandla Zungu. The Meyiwa case is being heard by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, ironically a former footballer himself who played for Kaizer Chiefs and Pirates.

It has already been a lengthy court battle and created plenty of salacious headlines, generating tabloid fodder and intriguing social media detectives who have put forward many unsubstantiated theories.

But at the heart of it all is the untimely death of a young man far too soon.

There is a little conjecture over just how old Meyiwa was when he passed away.

His ‘football age’ was 27, but on his tombstone his date of birth was given as three years later, making him 30.

It is not uncommon for footballers to present different ages in their careers to try and capitalise on junior national team recognition, but is, of course, against the rules.

His death, at the peak of his career, came as a huge shock and a blow to both Pirates and Bafana Bafana.

In fact, it could be argued that The Buccaneers have yet to truly find an adequate replacement a decade later as they mix and match their keepers without settling on a permanent fixture between the posts.

Bafana have not suffered as much and the emergence of Ronwen Williams as the undisputed number one in the national team means they are well covered in that area of the pitch.

Meyiwa was more than a great keeper though; he was also a very popular member of the dressing room and mentor to many in the game.

Tributes to him flowed in from all over the world, from then FIFA boss Sepp Blatter to Spain’s World Cup winning keeper Iker Casillas, who said in a social media post: “Very sad for the dramatic loss of friend RIP Senzo.”

Pirates owner Irvin Khoza said in the days after the tragedy: “We had a session in the morning with the players at which we were soul-searching. A lot of sobbing and crying. It was uncontrollable.”

Meyiwa joined Pirates in 2002 and made his debut four years later but was largely a back-up to several others before getting his chance.

He was largely a regular the following season, but the arrival of Moeneeb Josephs put him back on the bench.

It wasn’t until 2012 that he really cemented his place in the team and all of a sudden became Bafana’s first choice too. One of his most famous performances was for Pirates against TP Mazembe in an African Champions League clash in 2013, when he saved two dubiously awarded penalties in the game to help his side advance.

They lost in the final that year. He made his international debut in June 2013 and had seven caps at the time of his death.

He was only beaten once, by Australia’s Tim Cahill, in international football and never faced defeat in a national team jersey.

He captained Bafana on four occasions, the last time a 0–0 draw with Congo only 11 days before he passed. His final football game was a 4–1 victory with Pirates over Ajax Cape Town in the Telkom Knockout on 25 October 2014, the day before he died.