Meyiwa’s real age could have caused pandemonium

THE danger with making allegations about people who have died is that they cannot defend themselves. But the latest allegations about Kelly Khumalo’s late boyfriend, Senzo Meyiwa, cannot be ignored because of their seriousness. It has been claimed that Meyiwa, buried on November 1, aged 27, was actually 30. The evidence cited is the tombstone of his late twin brother, that gave their birth year as 1984.

The tombstone has reportedly been removed from the graveyard, supposedly to hide this anomaly.

Anonymous sources from his previous school alleged Meyiwa had misrepresented his real age.

Assuming these allegations were made before the Bafana Bafana captain’s life was tragically ended by gun-toting criminals in October, what would the ramifications be?

If the allegations were proved true while he was alive, it would have been disastrous for Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

Regarding his personal life, Meyiwa would not be regarded as a “Ben 10” of Kelly Khumalo, his pop singer girlfriend at whose mother’s house he was murdered.

“Ben 10” is a nickname for a man going out with an older woman.

So if Meyiwa was born in January 1984 rather than September 1987, he would not fall under this category as he would be older than Khumalo, who was born in November 1984.

South Africa would probably have been charged with fielding a defaulter — a player misrepresenting his identity — and would possibly have faced a sanction with points deduction.

There is no definitive evidence to prove the claims beyond reasonable doubt because Meyiwa sadly cannot answer for himself.

But if the claims are true, they should serve as a lesson to would-be defaulters, and their aiders, that their pursuit of stardom could prove detrimental to a team.

Imagine if the claims against Meyiwa had been made a few years ago, when he was one of our key Under-23 players who were looking to qualify for the Olympics.

Had these been proved true just as our Olympic team was about to make it, we could have had a situation where an entire country’s dream would have been shattered because of a lie.

Meyiwa also represented the national Under-17 and Under-20 squads.

He might be the first player against whom such allegations have been made now that he’s dead, but the reality is that the local game is awash with stories of age-cheating.

And sadly, there seems to be no way of stopping these claims because SA football in general tends to turn a blind eye and deaf ear.

While accepting that baseless innuendo and wild claims could lead to unfair victimisation, it is very important for the local game to have a standard verification process of all newcomers.

For many years there have been stories of parents colluding with some club officials and authorities at Home Affairs to falsify birth dates just to get their kids to fulfil their dreams of turning professional.

While Meyiwa is haunted even in his grave, no mention is made of those who may have helped him to acquire a “new” age.

The truth is that if our development structures were in proper condition, it would be impossible for anyone to cheat.

A player would be monitored from the school colts right up to the professional set-up.

Too often we see a player making his debut at “22 years of age” and wonder where he has been all along. Only to find that perhaps this player had been genuinely struggling for years to break into the professional ranks and, consequently, had to “cook” his age when the chance finally came.

But sadly, if it’s proved he was a cheat, his legacy will be severely sullied. What date of birth would Safa write on a statue they plan to erect in his honour? — The Sowetan