RESIDENTS, colleagues, patrollers and hostel leaders gathered at Jabulani Hostel in Soweto on Thursday, 22 February for the memorial service of Mduduzi Mbense.
The 38-year-old Green Army for Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment in Gauteng was shot dead on Friday morning, 16 February.
Emotions were high among mourners and hostel leaders as they chanted Zulu songs while women ululated to celebrate Mduduzi’s life. Izinduna spoke about how Mduduzi was a leader and a man of honour who respected his team.
Nduna's at the hostel gathered at the memorial service to bid farewell. Many of them detailed how Mduduzi was a leader and man of honour who respected his team. pic.twitter.com/1tAs5wJ94E
— Zandile Ethel Khumalo (@Ethel_Khumalo) February 22, 2024
“He was a very humble and respectful man who was always hands on with work and made sure we were informed in any meeting we planned," said one of the hostel leaders, Mlungisi Ximba.
He said Mduduzi's death has not just left scars in their hearts, but a huge gap that no one can fill.
“He was involved in the community with the CPF, hostel leaders, cleaners and the Green Army. He was really a people’s person who resected his people. He really left a huge gap here,” said Mlungisi.
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On the morning Mduduzi was killed, he was on duty. His body was found in a pool of blood next to a bin, an imagine many cannot erase, said another hostel leader, Sehluko Dladla.
“He was a leader. We have lost a life here. People at the hostel are uneasy, still shocked and traumatised, especially those who witnessed the incident. That imagine still remains in their minds,” he said.
Wiseman Buthelezi, an induna at the hostel, said this death hit hard because Mduduzi was like any other man who left home to hustle for a better life in Gauteng only for his life to be taken so fast.
Friends also shared their last moments with Mduduzi, but the memories were emotional for Green Army Ward 34 supervisor, Matshidiso Koena. She said moments before Mduduzi died, they spent 20 minutes on a call, something that never happened before.
Matshidiso said she still cannot believe that Mduduzi is no more.
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