Singer Kelly Khumalo believes the criminal justice system failed to protect her from death threats she has received.

In an exclusive interview with eNCA, Khumalo, sitting alongside her lawyer Magdelene Moonsamy, said she is happy that the trial of the five men accused of the murder of the former Bafana Bafana star has begun.

''We have a problem in our country and this is not just about Kelly Khumalo, the musician. This is about an individual in the pits and darkest place of wherever it is, where they lose loved ones and justice is not served.

“I once said something about this [lack of justice] on my Instagram page. To my surprise, I had a lot of people saying they support and agree with what I am saying because they are some of the South African citizens who have been robbed of justice in this country because for some reason the law is not playing the part it is supposed to play. That is what every South African is going through,” said Khumalo.

“I think the lowest point for me is being let down by the law. As a South African citizen, I trust and believe in the law to protect not just me but my family and our society. But with what has happened to me, I have had my life threatened and family threatened, not once but multiple times. And I feel like the law is not coming into place to protect and make me feel like that it is within my right to have protection for myself and family,” said Khumalo.

Expressing her disappointment at how the trial has unfolded, Moonsamy said they will leave no stone unturned in their quest for justice.

“We just need to be sure that we are able to accumulate all of these allegations and present them in a solidified, sophisticated and elegant manner. If the jurisdiction of South Africa does not satisfy us, we will escalate it,” said Moonsamy.

She said there were things that had been emanating from the media that were not “legally binding, sound, factual and evidential”.

“I am going to now consult in terms of international law and prepare a submission because I believe that this matter is about Twitter. It is not about the law. This is not the way the system must work,” said Moonsamy.