Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala has expressed his profound sadness at the death of Bafana Bafana teammate Senzo Meyiwa.
The 27-year-old Meyiwa was shot and killed on Sunday in what has been reported as being a botched robbery at the house of his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo.
Speaking to Football411 an emotional Tshabalala spoke of the difficulty of coming to terms with Meyiwa's passing.
"It is with great sadness that the community of South Africa has lost Senzo, it is still a shock to us, it shows you that death strikes when you least expected it," he said.
"I would like to take this opportunity to send my deepest condolences to his family... they are in a difficult time but I trust God will be with them and the entire nation, we are all mourning. Yah, I am just sad I can’t even express how I feel but it’s not nice.
"I heard the news of his passing Sunday night around 10pm, my manager phoned me around that time, but it only sank in the morning that Senzo has left us. I’ve known him for a very long time we were also close when we were playing for the national team.
"He was a good guy, very funny, someone you would hang out with, someone I didn’t mind sharing stories with and jokes. I remember when we were in Ethopia he actually came into my room we had a heart to heart chat about life in general, we had long, long fruitful chat about life in general and life after football.
"I will remember Senzo because he played his part in football, he was a true inspiration to millions of South Africans and he was one of the best goalkeepers. I played against him several time but I never scored a single goal. We will truly miss him may his soul rest in peace."
It is expected that Meyiwa will be laid to rest this coming weekend. The search for his killers continues, with the South African Police services having made a R250,000 reward available to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest of those responsible.
The 27-year-old Meyiwa was shot and killed on Sunday in what has been reported as being a botched robbery at the house of his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo.
Speaking to Football411 an emotional Tshabalala spoke of the difficulty of coming to terms with Meyiwa's passing.
"It is with great sadness that the community of South Africa has lost Senzo, it is still a shock to us, it shows you that death strikes when you least expected it," he said.
"I would like to take this opportunity to send my deepest condolences to his family... they are in a difficult time but I trust God will be with them and the entire nation, we are all mourning. Yah, I am just sad I can’t even express how I feel but it’s not nice.
"I heard the news of his passing Sunday night around 10pm, my manager phoned me around that time, but it only sank in the morning that Senzo has left us. I’ve known him for a very long time we were also close when we were playing for the national team.
"He was a good guy, very funny, someone you would hang out with, someone I didn’t mind sharing stories with and jokes. I remember when we were in Ethopia he actually came into my room we had a heart to heart chat about life in general, we had long, long fruitful chat about life in general and life after football.
"I will remember Senzo because he played his part in football, he was a true inspiration to millions of South Africans and he was one of the best goalkeepers. I played against him several time but I never scored a single goal. We will truly miss him may his soul rest in peace."
It is expected that Meyiwa will be laid to rest this coming weekend. The search for his killers continues, with the South African Police services having made a R250,000 reward available to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest of those responsible.