LYDENBURG – The youngest mayor ever to be sworn into office in South Africa has passed away. Mr Mandlakayise Karl Thabadiyawa Mabelane (40) died at his mother’s home in Mashishing after a prolonged illness.
Mabelane served as the mayor of Thaba Chweu Municipality for five years. He also had a stint as speaker of the Thaba Chweu Municipality from 2000 to 2005.
During his term in office, Mabelane also invited the late Mr Nelson Mandela to Lydenburg and awarded him the key to the town in 1996, which until today, has not been bestowed upon anyone else.
Mabelane, who presented the key to Mandela in the presence of Mr Matthews Phosa and Gen Constant Viljoen, then told the newspaper that Madiba said he would only visit the town on one condition, “Gen Constant Viljoen had to be present”.
He will also be remembered as an enthusiastic member of the Civic Coalition in town, someone who was not shy to call a spade a spade when things within the municipality was not up to scratch. In one of his last interviews with the newspaper, he told Steelburger/Lydenburg News; “I can’t believe that the last time a street in Mashishing was paved was when I was still a councillor. It is painful to note that the last time I saw contractors doing our roads was in 2001 at Extention 6.”
His grandmother, Ms Lien Mokwena, told the newspaper he was very sick before his death last week Tuesday. “He was admitted to a hospital in Nelspruit where they operated on a growth on his neck. He struggled to breathe and could not eat. He had a lot of pain. He called his daughter last week Sunday and handed her his laptop.”
She said Mabelane’s mother, Martha and father, Johannes, is struggling to come to terms with the death of their only child. “He was a good man. The one thing I will always remember of Mandla is that he would always ask me to bring him a newspaper from town. He loved to read. We were very proud of him.”
“We are still reeling from the shock of his untimely death”, says Ms Tiny Mabuza, the family spokesman. Mabelane was one of the true and selfless leaders who had the interest of the people at heart. We were still expecting a lot from him and his death is a great loss to the people of Thaba Chweu and the province at large,” said Mabuza.
Friend of Mabelane, Mr Chris Nkuna, said that he was known by several names such as Karel, Mandla Mayor, Kudra, Mindlos and Kaw. “He towered like a colossus during his brief but full life. He founded our movement at a tender age and will remain in the thoughts of many. His phenomenal leadership prowess had been central and when there were issues, you would find him running and processing them on behalf of our people. He will not only be missed by his family and friends but the entire community and society for the role he had played as he believed in equality and empowerment. He is counted as the only leader in TCM who managed to bring everyone together, every race and every community through his tangible efforts. He shared his expertise with the majority of individuals in the society and we are happy that we could experience his great contributions. May his soul rest in peace.”
FF+ National federal councillor, Mr Frik Roussouw, said that he met Mabelane in 1994 through political engagement. “I served under various mayors and speakers for many years but Mandla was simply the best. He is the only person I know that could, on various occasions in TCM, orchestrate a demonstration in which more than 5 000 people would partake. We called him the young lion of Thaba Chweu. We were not only colleagues, but friends and he ever so often visited me at home. Mandla enjoyed some Afrikaans music from time to time and his favourite as I recall was Soos bloed by Theuns Jordaan. It’s also thanks to Mandla that none of the street names in Lydenburg were changed. Thank you to the family who asked me to act as speaker at his memorial service. Hamba kahle young lion.”
Another close friend, Mr Themba Sibiya, said Mandla had a vision. “He wanted Mashishing to be the next Soweto, but was aware that there were no leadership to achieve that. He was always reading. He said the leaders of today did not read. Mandla was a knowledgeable man with a passion for community development. He said that communities had to integrate and see beyond colour. He knew TCM was failing. He fought against high tariffs for businesses because it plays an important part in the community as a whole. We would sit for hours on end talking about politics. His knowledge about it was impeccable. My belief is that Mandla was seriously underutilised or not utilised at all. With his experience he could have contributed immensely to the community. All his proposals to council for community development were unfortunately ignored. May his intelligent soul rest in peace.”
A memorial service was held for him on Thursday. Mabelane will be laid to rest on Saturday in Mashishing.
