Ex-city councillor dies in stabbing

‘Troubled’ son arrested over slaying

THE teenage son of an ex-councillor has been arrested in connection with stabbing his “loving” father to death.

The suspect was out on R500 bail for another alleged murder when he allegedly killed former ANC ward councillor Monde Mabandla in their Site B, Khayelitsha home, on Thursday.

Mabandla reportedly died in his 11-year-old daughter’s arms as she desperately tried to save his life.

Mabandla was the councillor for Ward 92 until the local government elections in August when the DA took over.

His wife, Siyolise Mabandla, said her 11-year-old daughter had attempted to administer CPR on her father in the lounge.

“She was in the kitchen when her father cried out for her. When she came to the front, he had a stab wound to the face and he was getting weaker and weaker,” she told the Weekend Argus.

“She tried to hold up his face but he was too heavy for her so she laid him down on the floor. He was gasping for air and blood was streaming from the wound,” she said.

“She then ran out to the neighbours for assistance and moments later someone went to call her to tell her he had died.” According to Siyolise Mabandla, by the time she arrived on the scene, the police were already on their way out of her home with one of her sons under arrest.

She said he was a “troubled person, addicted to tik” and that while he had been on good terms with his father, her husband sometimes expressed his disappointment that he had dropped out of school and abused drugs.

The teen had been grounded for the past two weeks “after he had come home high one evening. I cannot believe that someone I love has (allegedly) taken the life of another I love,” Siyolise said.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant- Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed a case of murder was being investigated. “A man was stabbed to death during an apparent domestic dispute with a relative at his Khayelitsha home. The suspect was arrested and is due to make a court appearance in Khayelitsha on Monday on a charge of murder,” said Traut.

Family friend Xolani Dywili described Mabandla as a “loving and responsible father who did everything for his children”. Dywili, who had known Mabandla since they were children growing up in the Eastern Cape, said he was not only the pillar of his family, but the community.

“We are deeply saddened by his passing but will not bear any grudges towards the person who has done this. He (Mabandla) didn’t deserve to die the way he did, but we forgive the perpetrator,” he said.

ANC city council spokesperson Khaya Yozi said he had been “privileged to have served with Mabandla as ANC ward councillors for the past five years”.

“I remember all his speeches. He would talk about his ward and his people. But what stood out for me the most about him was his high level of discipline. It is that character I admired the most in him,” said Yozi.

asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za

Monde Mabandla