Durban — The death of Ugu District Municipality Mayor, Councillor Phumlile Mthiyane, just a day after the passing of the municipal manager has left councillors shocked and questioning the cause. Ugu is on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mthiyane died in the early hours of Monday while municipal manager, Dr Elliot Michael Sibusiso Ntombela, died on Saturday. Both were known to be well at their time of death.
A councillor in the municipality, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the mayor had led a delegation to visit the manager’s family in Empangeni on Sunday with no sign of sickness.
Several politicians who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity said the circumstances surrounding the mayor’s death were highly suspicious – there was a strong possibility that the two were silenced.
ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said the ANC was shocked and saddened by the mayor’s death, but refused to be drawn into poisoning speculation, saying the party would wait for the post-mortem results before commenting further.
“The ANC as a leader of society cannot be part of speculation and would be guided by concrete evidence. All we can say for now is that we dip our revolutionary banner in Comrade Mthiyane’s honour,” said Mndebele.
A municipality Exco member and close friend of the mayor, councillor Dicksy Nciki, described Mthiyane as kind and a hard worker who dedicated her time to clean governance, evident by taking the municipality from a qualified to an unqualified audit in her first year as mayor.
Speaking on behalf of opposition parties, IFP regional chairperson Sifundo Ngwane said they were still reeling in shock, especially because the mayor was well on Sunday with no sign of sickness or having complained of any pain.
Ngwane said they too were waiting for the post-mortem results because her death was highly questionable. For now it was difficult to accept the death of a person who was known to be well hours before, he said.
Attempts to get her family to speak to the publication were unsuccessful.
Mthiyane was the ANC regional convener before the regional conference earlier last year. She had just finished a year in the office having been appointed in November 2021 after the local government elections.
KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sihle Zikalala said Mthiyane’s passing has left them “devastated and in disbelief”.
He described the mayor as a gentle giant in the sphere of local government who took on the task of stabilising water supply for communities in the district, and within a very short period of time following her appointment as mayor, there was progress on key projects to do so.
“We mourn the loss of a bridgebuilder, peacemaker, and passionate activist who put the interests of the people of Ugu first,” said Zikalala.
Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube described the death of the mayor and that of the municipal manager as “a double tragedy whose impact effectively decimated the top leadership of the Ugu District Municipality within days”.
“On behalf of government and the people of KwaZulu-Natal, we express our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Councillor Mthiyane. We also pay our deepest respects to the family of Dr Ntombela, the municipal manager.”
Daily News