Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star documents the killing and the following investigation of the circumstances surrounding the then 27-years old South African football player, Senzo Meyiwa’s death. This Netflix five-part documentary was released at a crucial time as the murder suspects of Senzo Meyiwa are set to go to trial this month. It follows the various people involved with the football star and examines their motivations and relationship with Senzo Meyiwa. Each episode is tightly knit and ends with introducing a new angle which is explored in the next episode, thus keeping the viewer hooked with curiosity. Each episode ranges between 35-45 minutes, making it a good choice to binge-watch.
– Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star review does not contain spoilers –
Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star is a documentary, but is probably more dramatic than a lot of fictional dramas available on Netflix. From a mysterious, unsolvable murder, to a love triangle, big shot people with ulterior motives, tampering of evidence, media and people frenzy; you name it, chances are Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star has it. So much so that you find yourself getting riled up, and trying to solve this Jenga-like puzzle, with each piece of evidence sitting precariously, ready to be dismissed at the slightest movement from one of the characters.
There are so many people involved, so many twists and turns, and so many accusations that going into the details of the plot would ruin it all for the viewer. But for the sake of the review, I will attempt to give you a small glimpse into the mess that Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star presents. Now the 1st episode begins with the news of the death of Meyiwa and introduces the people directly involved, who were present at the scene of the murder.
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Meyiwa was shot dead on October 26th, 2014, at his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo’s (who is a famous South African singer) house, with her mother, sister, her sister’s boyfriend, Meyiwa’s two friends and Kelly’s two kids present. Three people broke and entered the house and proceeded to “rob” them by pointing a gun at them and asking for their phones and money. In the process, they ended up killing Senzo Meyiwa, but could only take away his girlfriend’s phone. Initially, it seemed like a classic case of a robbery gone wrong.
Gradually, as the 2nd episode starts, the complications in the case emerge. The love triangle between Senzo Meyiwa, his girlfriend Kelly and his wife, Mandisa (he has one kid with both of them respectively) has got his family involved, all of whom strongly believe in spirituality and ancestral gods and punishment. Meyiwa’s mother, at some point, goes to a spiritual healer to pray for her son’s return to his wife Mandisa. Throughout the series, fingers have been pointed at both Kelly and Mandisa for plotting the murder of their boyfriend and husband only to be dismissed in the end.
Apart from the women in his life, Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star also focuses on his friends and their motivations for either having a hand in his murder or hiding the truth. One of the key suspects to surface later on is Longwe Twala, Kelly’s sister’s boyfriend. He is also the son of Kelly’s record producer Chicco Twala, who is one of the three people who received a call from Kelly the night Senzo Meyiwa died.
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Apart from the police, there are various social justice and online sleuths involved in the case as well, one of them being an anonymous Twitter account called Not Barry Roux, who brings this Longwe Twala story to the light. There is a lot, lot more to this case than what I have mentioned above, for which you will have to watch Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star yourself, but there are a few things worth mentioning apart from the murder story.
The women in Senzo Meyiwa’s life are very strong and know how to stand up for themselves, one of the main reasons they ever get suspected. Although, the case is not yet solved so we don’t know if they are guilty or not, the way the public and media ran after them accusing them of murder, speaks tonne about how we regard strong, independent women.
Another point worth mentioning is the presence of Zulu culture in all this frenzy. There are several mentions of how Senzo Meyiwa dying is him paying for upsetting the ancestral gods. One of Senzo Meyiwa’s friends talks about the belief in Zulu culture that if the ancestors do not approve of one’s decisions, there is likely to be a tragedy, probably a robbery or any sort of accident to make one pay for their wrongdoings. This belief plays up a lot across the series, in people’s opinions, Senzo Meyiwa’s parents’ and Mandisa’s opinions on the whole tragedy.
In all this, another important point, that a lot of viewers will forget since the story is so captivating, is the figure of Senzo Mayiwa himself. He does appear a few times during the first few episodes, but in the last two episodes, his figure as a beloved soccer star kind of fades, to give space to this cheating and obstinate husband, son and boyfriend, who became so infatuated with Kelly that he was ready to give up the family that he already had. But I suppose, with the scandal surrounding his death gaining so much traction, there were high chances of the real Senzo Meyiwa getting lost somewhere beneath it all.
Final Thoughts: Senzo Meyiwa and Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star
Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star captures a scandal that has been dragging on for more than seven years now. Hopefully, it will come to a judicious closure as the final trial is set to take place in the month of April itself. We can only hope that Senzo Meyiwa gets the justice that has been denied to him for so long. Meanwhile, please watch this immensely captivating documentary, and maybe judge for yourself the treatment of the subject in media.
Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star is streaming on Netflix.
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