JOHANNESBURG: South Africa football captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead by burglars as he tried to protect his celebrity girlfriend during a break-in, a killing that sent shockwaves across the football-mad country.

At an emotional news conference on Monday, Meyiwa’s colleagues paid tribute to the 27-year-old goalkeeper, who was hit by a single round in the chest as he confronted two intruders on Sunday night at the home of actress and singer Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus, a township southeast of Johannesburg.

He was dead on arrival at hospital, police said.

This weekend’s Johannesburg derby in front of 90,000 fans between Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates — the club Meyiwa joined as a 13-year-old and ended up leading — was postponed as a mark of respect.

“Don’t think such a good man as Senzo can go and vanish. His spirit will live,” Shakes Mashaba, coach of the Bafana Bafana national side, said, tears streaming down his cheeks and his voice quavering with emotion. “He would always be the leader.”

More than 17,000 people were killed in South Africa last year, but the slaying of a popular sporting hero has stunned even this crime-weary nation.

“Words cannot express the nation’s shock at this loss,” said President Jacob Zuma, amid a national outpouring of grief and anger.

Zuma said police must “leave no stone unturned in finding his killers” and bringing them to justice.

Meyiwa, who had recently been made South Africa captain and led the team in four African Cup of Nations qualifiers this year. He hadn’t conceded a goal in the four games.

South African police announced late on Sunday on their Twitter account that Meyiwa had been shot and killed, adding it was breaking protocol to announce his death soon after the shooting.

Police also called for calm, saying “upset” people had gathered at the house and at the hospital where Meyiwa was confirmed dead.

Police said he was shot after an “altercation” with the suspects and were treating the incident as an attempted robbery and had opened a murder case.

“Two guys entered the house and demanded cellphones, money and other valuables,” provincial security official Sizakele Nkosi-Malubane told reporters. “Senzo tried to protect Kelly because one of the men had a gun pointed towards her.”

Tributes to Meyiwa flooded in from across the football world.

Spain’s World Cup winning goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas posted on his Instagram account a picture of Meyiwa after the pair had swapped jerseys, saying “Very sad for the dramatic loss of friend RIP Senzo”.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter described Meyiwa’s killing as a “senseless, tragic loss”.

Dean Furman, one of Meyiwa’s national team-mates, wrote on Twitter: “Beyond devastated at the loss of our captain & friend Senzo Meyiwa. Thoughts & prayers are with his family & friends at this terrible time.”

Meyiwa led the South Africa team in their last game, a 0-0 draw with Republic of Congo on Oct 15 that kept them top of their group and on course to qualify for next year’s continental championship.

He played for Orlando Pirates on Saturday in a 4-1 win over Ajax Cape Town in a cup competition.

South Africa is still reeling from the death of former world 800-metre champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi who died in a car crash on Friday and the jailing of fallen Paralympic hero Oscar Pistorius for the killing of his girlfriend last year.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014