The family of slain former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa have given up hope of ever meeting his daughter with afro-pop star Kelly Khumalo. Kelly’s daughter with Senzo was a few months old when her father was murdered at her maternal grandmother’s home in Vosloorus in October 2014.ACCESS DENIED
For years, the family which does not see eye to eye with the Asinne singer, have tried to reach out to her but she does not answer or return their calls. According to Senzo’s family, they only met Thingo once when her father brought her to her grandparents’ home in Umlazi, near Durban, together with Kelly’s mother. A relative of the Meyiwas told ZiMoja that Kelly was given space when she told the family she was not going to attend his funeral at the time. “Family members were still hurt at the time. It’s understandable that she could not bring Thingo to Senzo’s funeral because the whole country blamed his death on her,” the source said.
In an interview on eNCA last year, Senzo’s brother Sifiso said that after Senzo’s death, their sister Nokuthula, tried reaching out to Kelly but she allegedly did not pick up. Sifiso also said that the family, together with their mother’s sister, tried to call the Khumalos but they would not hear it.According to the source, the family had hoped that over the years, Kelly would let them see the child. “It has been ten years now, and Senzo’s mother Ntombi and his sister Zama, are desperate to have a relationship with the girl,” The source said: ” All they want is to spend time with Thingo so that she knows her siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. It is unfair for the child to only hear about the Meyiwa family in the media and not spend time with them,” said the source. The source added that Thingo needs to have a relationship with her babomkhulu (uncle Sifiso) so that she knows the rituals of the Meyiwas as she grows up. Senzo and Sifiso Meyiwa were very close. So Sifiso as the uncle, is like the father to Thingo,” said the source.
When called for comment, Senzo’s sister Zama Meyiwa confirmed that they last saw Thingo when she was six months old and that they have since given up on reaching out to Kelly. She said it breaks their hearts as a family to see Thingo on social media. “The whole family is not happy at the fact that we don’t have access to her, and she is a big part of our family and she looks like my brother, I just wish we could spend time with her even if it’s an hour,” she said. Attempts to get hold of Kelly drew a blank as her phone rang unanswered and she failed to respond to our WhatsApp messages. In 2016, when asked if Senzo’s family would ever meet his child on Real Talk with Anele Mdoda, she answered: “They can forget about that.” Kelly has a 13-year-old son with media personality and TV presenter, Jub Jub Maarohanye. In April last year, she gave birth to her third born child who is fathered by another footballer, former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder, Mthokozisi Yende.