THE FAMILY of the former Mkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party Member of Parliament, Mr. Edward Mzikayise Ntshingila (deceased), has condemned the actions of some of the party’s members who were accused of harassing former members who came to support them at the funeral.
The trouble started when a member of the MK Party, who has resigned from the party, Mrs Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, wrote on her page on X, expressing her disappointment at the actions of other members of the party, whom she accused of trying to prevent her and the party’s spokesperson, Mr. Nhlamulo Ndhlela, from entering Ntshingila’s funeral.
“Some leaders have made it their daily work to try to fight with me and Ndhla, so much so that they do that even in situations where we are faced with the painful situation of losing someone we know and were close to,” wrote Mrs. Zuma-Sambudla on her X page.
“Those leaders tried to prevent us from going to Ntshingila’s memorial and funeral service, they threatened us that we would be forcibly evicted if we did not go. So we thank Ntshingila’s family for confirming and representing the truth about the situation we were facing,” said Mrs. Zuma-Sambudla.
Ntshingila (43) died last Thursday after a long illness, and his memorial service was held at Johannesburg City Hall, Johannesburg, on Thursday. The funeral service will be held tomorrow in Johannesburg.
Ntshingila’s family, from the side of his uncles at Kubheka, issued a statement in which they criticized the actions of MK Party members regarding the allegations that they were accused of blocking Mrs. Zuma-Sambudla and Ndlhela.
“We are saddened to say that we are facing such a painful situation in the family, but there have been negative reports of respected members of the group who have apparently tried to discourage and disturb people who wanted to attend the memorial service of our family member. It is surprising to us how it happened that there were people who did such a painful thing especially during such a difficult time,” the family said in a statement.
Continuing, he said that what is like rubbing pepper in the wound is that the people who are being abused are Zuma-Sambudla, Ndlhela and Ms. Vanessa Calvert – they are part of the people who have always supported them since Ntshingila got sick until she died.
“It is surprising and scary how people who were so helpful to us were tortured and prevented from supporting our family in the current situation, all this we hear is bad and unjust,” said the family.
They urged that this be a time to remember Ntshingila and his good work for the MK Party, and to avoid doing things that will cause noise and conflicts which could be avoided and should not even start happening.