Celani Sikhakhane
A leader of the IFP Women’s Brigade was killed on Sunday after gunmen stormed her rental residence in Mtwalume on the northern coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
Thembelihle Qalani was shot multiple times by her assailants, but still managed to phone her sister after they fled.
“After she was shot she called me to let us know as the family that she had been attacked at her place,” Stu Qalani told Scrolla.Africa. She was at home in the Eastern Cape when her sister called.
Stu Qalani said that her sister, the 46-year-old constituency secretary of the Women’s Brigade, was their only family member living in KZN.
“We don’t know whether her life was under threat or not.”
She said her sister will be buried at her hometown of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape but the date has not yet been confirmed. She said that her sister had no children.
Ugu District IFP leader Jika Mthethwa says they lost “a vibrant leader” who never shied away from saying what she thought was right.
“We are still shocked about her murder since she never suggested that she was facing any danger,” said Mthethwa.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said that the motive behind the murder of Thembelihle Qalani is still not known.
“On 25 September police received a complaint of a murder at Nyangwini area and proceeded to the scene. On arrival they were shown a room with the body of a 46-year-old woman.
“The motive for the killing is unknown,” said Gwala.
