Issued by African National Congress
March 28, 2000
Mystery surrounds the tragic and untimely death of ANC National Memebership Officer in our Organising Department, Comrade John Tshabalala and three children, including his only two, in a car accident in Nigel over the weekend.
Thirty-seven year old Comrade Tshabalala and his only two young sons, seven year old Sibusiso and 14 month-old, Nhlanhla, died instantly when the car in which they were travelling overturned under mysterious circumstances in Nigel on Saturday afternoon and rolled several times, spilling their bodies in the process.
A third child, six year old Dumisa Dlamini, who had been picked up from his home to spend school holidays with the Tshabalala family, was admitted to hospital with two other passengers injured in the accident.Little Dumisa later died in hospital from his injuries. The two others who were admitted with him, Loyiso Nkathazo, 18, a nephew of Comrade Tshabalala’s wife, and Thulani Dlamini, 20 are recovering from their injuries in hospital.
Eye witnesses to the accident referred to a second car, the driver of which they believed could assist the police in their investigation into the accident and its cause. They could not go into details for fear of jeopardising investigations. We in the African National Congress wish to assure his family that we will never rest until the cause of his death is known and, if there is any foul play, the wrong doer or doers are brought to book.
A memorial service for Comrade Tshabablala and the three children will be held at the Duduza Resource Centre today(Wednesday). They will all be buried in Duduza on Saturday.
The ANC dips its banner in honour of this fallen hero of our movement and wishes the survivors of this terrible accident a speedy recovery.
We extend our heart-felt condolences to the Tshabalala and Dlamini families on the loss of their loved ones.
We, as the ANC are deeply saddened by the sudden death of Comrade Tshabalala who was one of the most tried and tested cadres of our movement. His death is a severe blow to our organisation, especially that it comes at a time when he was deeply involved in the process of co-ordinating training programmes for activists generally and candidates for the coming local government elections.We share his family’s grief and great sense of loss.
His outstanding organisational skills made him one of those rare assets in our organisation which are not easily replaceable. Comrade Tshabalala is survived by his wife, Faith, both his parents, three brothers and one sister. May his soul rest in peace.
Issued by Nat Serache
Department of Information and Publicity
PO Box 61884
Marshalltown
2107
Contact Number: 082 416 3150