Cape Town community leader stabbed to death in robbery
18 July 2017
Cape Town – A community leader belonging to a people’s rights organisation, which became known for flinging faeces to demand better toilets in parts of Cape Town, has been killed during a robbery.
Thulani Zondani, a father of three and a leader of the Ses'khona People's Rights Movement, was stabbed to death in Nkanini, Khayelitsha, around 02:00 on Sunday.
The movement made headline news in June 2013, when its members poured faeces onto the floor inside Cape Town International Airport, in protest against the toilets the City was providing in some informal settlements.
Zondani was well known in the Khayelitsha area. Aside from his involvement in Ses’khona, he was the Khayelitsha Water and Sanitation Forum’s deputy chairperson.
A memorial service for Zondani is being planned for next Tuesday.
Former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng on Tuesday told News24 that he planned to attend the memorial, as Ses'khona members had supported him in his legal battles.
"I support many South Africans. He supported me when I was in and out of court, when it was raining or shining."
Ses’khona chairperson Andile Lili said he and others were shocked by Zondani's murder.
That afternoon, Zondani had accompanied a friend who owned a shebeen to a house where a relative of the friend lived.
Zondani, and relatives of the friend, had planned a surprise party for him. Zondani was meant to ensure the unsuspecting friend got to the party on time.
"After the party, he walked home, accompanied by someone else," Lili said.
A group armed with knives confronted the two, attacked Zondani, and grabbed his cellphone.
"He went back to call for his friend, telling him he’s been stabbed," Lili said.
Zondani died a short while later. Lili said it was believed that a group of youngsters, known in the area for committing crimes, had killed Zondani.
In November 2014, Lili himself was wounded twice when someone shot at him as he was sitting in his car in Khayelitsha. To date, no arrests had been made in this case, he said.
He said, at least in Zondani’s case, the suspects appeared to be known.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said a murder case was under investigation. Officers who responded found the body of a man, 35, with multiple stab wounds. No arrests were made.
