Cape Town – The father of Longwe Twala has hit back, saying if his son is guilty, he should go to jail.
Twala made headlines after bombshells were dropped in the murder trial of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa in the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
According to one report, music mogul Sello ‘Chicco’ Twala maintained that his son and Meyiwa’s then girlfriend and mother of his child, Kelly Khumalo, were best placed to explain what really happened on the day Senzo was shot.
Twala was at Kelly Khumalo’s home in Vosloorus when Meyiwa was gunned down on October 26, 2014, but it is alleged he ran away during the incident.
Others present in the house that day were Kelly’s younger sister, Zandile, their mother Ntombi, Meyiwa’s friends Mthokozisi Thwala and Tumelo Madlala, Kelly’s then 4-year-old son, Christian, and Thingo, Kelly’s daughter with Senzo.
In a video that went viral in January 2020, Twala was seen being scolded at the police station by his father, who hurled insults at him.
At the time he was arrested for shoplifting toiletries.
In the video, Chicco could be heard saying in the video he wished Longwe was responsible for Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa’s death, so he could rot in jail.
“Senzo Meyiwa, stealing from people, drugs and all that. I can’t stand for this s***,” he said.
In October 2020, IOL reported that Meyiwa’s family claimed Twala shot Senzo during an argument with Zandile (Twala’s then-girlfriend).
This sensational claim was made by Siyabonga Miya, the former footballer’s cousin who became the family spokesperson when Meyiwa’s father Sam died in July 2019.
This after claims surfaced about Meyiwa’s alleged sexual relationship with Zandile.
At the time of his murder, Meyiwa was married to Mandisa Meyiwa.
Miya claimed that Meyiwa’s childhood friend, Tumelo, who had travelled to Gauteng to visit Meyiwa that weekend, called the family and uttered the words, “Zandi’s boyfriend has shot Senzo”.
“A call was made by Tumelo, the first call to the Meyiwa family, to say Senzo was shot.
“He said Zandile’s boyfriend, of which he did not know him by name, has shot Senzo.
“And then, in the background, Kelly was crying saying ‘kodwa ngizothini ku maka Senzo (what will I say to Senzo’s mom)’,” IOL previously reported.
This week, Madlala returned to the stand, where he was grilled on parts of his statement to advocate Timothy Thobane, who is representing four of the five accused men.
Thobane read a statement made by Madlala in which he mentioned that he never told anyone that Twala killed Meyiwa as he was not carrying a gun on the day of the murder and ran away from the scene.
“Why did you have to write that statement? Who asked you about Longwe carrying a firearm or Longwe not carrying a firearm and shots being fired by Longwe? Who asked you that question? That’s very crucial,” Thobane asked Madlala.
In an interview with broadcaster, Newzroom Afrika, Chicco said if Twala was guilty, he must rot in jail.
“My son’s enemies cannot be my enemy and if my son wrongs people, he must suffer the consequences,” he said.
“If my son is implicated and is responsible for Senzo’s death he must go and rot in jail,” Chicco said.
Previously, Chicco publicly denounced his son for ruining his name and vowed not to protect him.
“I must be excluded, I was not there and I am not part of it. I have said it before as well that I am not going to protect my son; if he is the murderer, trust me, I will come out in support of all the people who want the perpetrators to be jailed. I will never protect him,” Chicco said in an interview earlier this year.
IOL