The late chieftainess of the Mqhekezweni Great Place has been laid to rest. She was buried on Friday at the village outside Mthatha, Eastern Cape.
71-year-old Nogcinile Mtirara passed away two weeks ago at her royal home. She was allegedly shot and killed by two balaclava-clad gunmen on the night of 29 October.
A very sad day for the people of Mqhekezweni and the surrounding areas. Mourners including traditional leaders, political leaders and the clergy came to pay their last respects.
The community and the bereaved family have expressed shock at the rising crime levels and acts of violence against women in the village.
“What we are here for is unforgivable. It is even hard to speak about. What do you call mopping someone’s blood? It is very painful. We are ashamed to say we are from Mqhekezweni because a person will say, you are from that places that kill people, that rape people,” laments one community member.
Another member says, “We are confused, Nogcinile got along with people, what is more, confusing is that they killed one of the people who are fighting what is happening here in Mqhekezweni. She would call for prayers, and call for government intervention. In our belief, an elderly person must get sick so that her children can nurse her, so that they can get closure when she dies.”
A teacher by profession, mama Nogcinile was praised by those she worked closely with. Deputy Minister of Defence Bantu Holomisa has described her as a community builder and a pillar of strength to the community of Mqhekezweni.
“Umam’Nogcinile was a hard worker. She was always here serving the community of this area. She also looked after these properties as you can see they are well-maintained. She was a progressive woman who was always looking for development in this area. We may have to consider that the police service must establish a satellite police station here where you will always have police who are patrolling.”
‘Insult of superlative degree’
Traditional leadership in the province has described the killing of Nogcinile in her royal home as an insult of the superlative degree.
CONTRALESA Chairperson in the province, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana and Chief Mandla Mandela had this to say.
Chief Nonkonyana says, “How can anybody conceive an idea of going to a royal house to kill, not only to kill the councillor but to kill the mother of the nation? We have been condemning these things strongest possible terms, the time has come now that we must stand up as the institution of traditional leadership in SA to make sure that our royal houses are protected. we had agreed with the government that time has come that traditional policing should be established in South Africa.”
“This home is known throughout the Thembu kingdom to have produced think tanks and heroes of our times. We are therefore heartbroken that such an incident, a horrific incident can happen in this home that is supposed to be an institution of our traditions, where all homes ought to have been protected by this traditional council,” adds Chief Mandela.
Fighting crime
COGTA MEC Zolile Williams says there are measures in place to fight crime. “Steps are taken to deal with this criminality in Mthatha, the new major General Mogadishu has reported for duty, he’s from the NIU and we know the impact of NIU when it arrived at Mthatha, within two weeks steps were taken to deal with those who engaged in extortion, some of them have been permanently silenced. we have given him a clear briefing about criminality in these areas including Mqhekezweni. so we think that the agility of the saps in dealing with crime, their responsiveness is gonna improve.”
Another elderly woman, a retired 80-year-old nurse who was also murdered on the same night as Nogcinile, will be laid to rest on Saturday.
Nomzwanele Mngoma
www.sabcnews.com