Bongani Mthembu, the courageous hostel worker who feared assassins would take him out before he could tell all about warlords and the Umlazi Glebelands killings, is dead.Mthembu, a Zulu speaker and friend to fellow AmaMphondo hostel dwellers, was killed a few hours before he was to talk to the Daily Dispatch team which travelled to Durban to interview him about the killings.
Mthembu, the chairman of Ubunye bama Hostela, became the 52nd person to be killed in the hostel violence.
Earlier, he said he was willing to “reveal the truth” about what he called “a genocide” which had been ignored by the authorities, including the police.
He said he was on a death-list of people who labelled him an enemy of some of the “warlords”.
He said: “I will also let you meet one of the people who survived the attacks. This is not good for the hostel we grew up in. Black on black are fighting. It’s like genocide. People are dying every day here and we are looking for solutions.”
Mthembu was speaking to the Dispatch at 4pm on Thursday in preparation for the Friday interview.
That was not to be.
Three hours later a stark SMS message came through at 7.32pm: “Bongani Mthembu has just been murdered at Block R.”
The Saturday Dispatch called Vanessa Burger, the community activist, the person who sent the text message.
She said: “He was shot and murdered in cold blood. He had just parked his vehicle after coming back from work.”
A call to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker, confirmed the slaying.
Last year, Mthembu survived an attempt on his life when three men armed with R5 and AK 47 automatic rifles opened fire on him and his friends. He was shot in the knee.
“Mthembu’s sin was to be vocal about service delivery issues. He wanted truth, he hated violence and he was hurting when he heard that another person has been killed,” said a source. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
No closer to truth as worker killed
Mthembu, a Zulu speaker and friend to fellow AmaMphondo hostel dwellers, was killed a few hours before he was to talk to the Daily Dispatch team which travelled to Durban to interview him about the killings.
Mthembu, the chairman of Ubunye bama Hostela, became the 52nd person to be killed in the hostel violence.
Earlier, he said he was willing to “reveal the truth” about what he called “a genocide” which had been ignored by the authorities, including the police.
He said he was on a death-list of people who labelled him an enemy of some of the “warlords”.
He said: “I will also let you meet one of the people who survived the attacks. This is not good for the hostel we grew up in. Black on black are fighting. It’s like genocide. People are dying every day here and we are looking for solutions.”
Mthembu was speaking to the Dispatch at 4pm on Thursday in preparation for the Friday interview.
That was not to be.
Three hours later a stark SMS message came through at 7.32pm: “Bongani Mthembu has just been murdered at Block R.”
The Saturday Dispatch called Vanessa Burger, the community activist, the person who sent the text message.
She said: “He was shot and murdered in cold blood. He had just parked his vehicle after coming back from work.”
A call to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker, confirmed the slaying.
Last year, Mthembu survived an attempt on his life when three men armed with R5 and AK 47 automatic rifles opened fire on him and his friends. He was shot in the knee.
“Mthembu’s sin was to be vocal about service delivery issues. He wanted truth, he hated violence and he was hurting when he heard that another person has been killed,” said a source. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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