SA withdraw case against Senzo suspect

Johannesburg - South African prosecutors on Tuesday withdrew their case against a suspect in the killing of national soccer team captain Senzo Meyiwa, the latest high-profile murder in which police and prosecutors have struggled to build an air-tight case.

Police arrested Zamokuhle Mbatha last month after witnesses picked him out in an identity parade, but on Tuesday magistrate Daniel Thulare said there was not enough evidence to try him.

Meyiwa was hit by a single gunshot to the chest on Sunday night while confronting two intruders at the home of his girlfriend, actress and singer Kelly Khumalo.

His death comes after a high court judge acquitted Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius of murder after he shot and killed his girlfriend last year, saying the state had only proved a lesser case of culpable homicide. Prosecutors are appealing that verdict.