Celani Sikhakhane
The IFP leadership suspects foul play after a car carrying the speaker of Madlangeni Municipality and four other passengers was hit by a train, killing one.
Mzonjani Mthethwa and the other passengers were on their way to the IFP election registration campaign in Blood River in KwaZulu-Natal when their vehicle stopped as it was crossing train tracks.
The accident claimed the life of Mthethwa’s bodyguard, Bheki Mdladla, who was declared dead on the scene.
The vehicle, a Toyota FJ Cruiser 4×4, turned off and locked its doors in the middle of the railway before being hit by the coal train at Kingsley in Blood River.
The vehicle was destroyed beyond repair.
IFP Amajuba District Municipality chairperson Reginald Ndima said they were disturbed by the news of the accident, as they were on the campaign trail.
“We are very saddened especially by the passing of the bodyguard. We suspect foul play in that accident because it is really unbelievable,” Ndima said.
The chairperson also noted the tragic timing of the accident, as Mthethwa’s mother and brother both died in recent weeks.
“The speaker has just lost his mother and his brother and he buried them in one day, and then after he is now involved in such a horrible accident,” he said.
The position of speaker in the Madlangeni Municipality has caused friction within the party in recent months. The position was vacant for four months before Mthethwa’s appointment, which had been the subject of divisions within the party.
EMadlangeni Municipal Manager Sydney de Klerk said that he is planning to pursue the matter.
“I will be meeting the station commander of Kingsley police station to get more details. After that I’ll be able to share with the media all the full details of the accident,” said De Klerk.
