Slain taxi boss laid to rest
Mandla Mzelemu had been travelling home after a meeting with other taxi bosses when gunmen in a white sedan opened fire on his vehicle.
Margate taxi boss and former ANC ward 11 councillor Mandla Mzelemu, gunned down on the Izingolweni Road, was laid to rest last Saturday.
Mr Mzelemu, who was also the Ugu Regional Chairman of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) was described as a man who had dedicated his life to the taxi industry.
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Taxi bosses, ANC officials and community leaders described him as a man who believed in resolving matters amicably and who would not resort to violence, while his children described him as a father who did everything to support them and ensure they had a better life.
The Nkoneni Sportsfield was packed with mourners, some of whom wept openly as his son Mxolisi, spoke of how he had found his father’s body near his house.
“I was at home when I heard the gunshots. This was unusual so I went to investigate. When I realised my father had been shot, I checked for a pulse but he was already gone.”
Mxolisi told mourners that his father had been killed for telling the truth.
“I can still smell his blood and hear the gunshots ring in my ears from time to time,” he added.
KwaZulu-Natal ANC MPL Mondli Chiliza spoke on behalf of the ANC, saying ‘black on black’ violence was a great concern.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. When someone dies of natural causes it is easier to accept than when they die as a result of another black man’s hand and or at his instruction.”
Ukhozi FM’s traffic reporter Ayanda Msweli, a close friend of Mr Mzelemu, said the ibhakede ‘bucket money’ practise should be abolished.
“Another leader has been lost to taxi violence, when will it end? It is up to you to put an end to this bucket money, because families are being robbed of their loved ones and the industry is being robbed of great leaders.”
His heartbroken colleagues from Santaco said they had been left with many questions after the senseless killing of a man who had worked hard to improve the industry.
It is believed Mr Mzelemu had been travelling home after a meeting with other taxi bosses when gunmen in a white sedan opened fire on his vehicle.
He was the third taxi boss to be gunned down since beginning of October. Two other bosses have recently been killed in Murchison.
No arrests have been made and investigations continue.
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