The Mashiyi family pointing to the two graves belonging to their relative Mziwakhe.
by Khaya Magenu 05 February 2010
A MAN who went to Krugersdorp 20 years ago has been buried for the second time. Mziwakhe Robert Mashiyi was laid to rest for the second time at his home in the Rockville rural village in Flagstaff on Saturday. This comes after he left to work and live in Krugersdorp more than 20 years ago. In 2000, Mzwakhe’s family received a call from King Edward Hospital in Durban and from radio stations claiming that Mzwakhe had passed away and asked them to collect his body. The family went to King Edward Hospital and collected the body and gave him a proper funeral, but the question on everybody’s lips was, what was Mzwakhe doing in Durban? There were concerns that is wasn’t Mzwakhe’s body but after they identified him, the funeral went ahead.
However, two weeks ago, the Mashiyi family received shocking news when Flagstaff Police Station informed them about the death of Mzwakhe in Krugersdorp - this ten years after they buried him. The police informed them that the first body was not that of Mzwakhe but of somebody else. The community started gossiping about who the real Mzwakhe was while the family were dumbfounded. One neighbour described the events “like something out of a film. We were very shocked to hear again that Mziwakhe has passed away while we knew that we had buried him long ago,” said the deceased’s sister, Nombuyekezo Nomantu Mashiyi. She said they believe they have now buried the real Mziwakhe because they saw his Identity Document and identified him by a scratch below his left eye. She said according to her mother’s child, Mzwakhe committed suicide after a long illness by hanging himself. Now there are two graves in the same yard, both intended for Mzwakhe. She further said that they were contacted by a businesswoman in Flagstaff who claimed that the first body was one of her relatives. The Mashiyi family was amazed that the woman only spoke of her suspicion now after all these years.
A man who escaped torture and the death penalty in 1960 during the Pondo Revolt could not hold back his tears when he narrated the story of how he managed to dodge apartheid police after he was arrested. Robert Sithembiso Ndzimela (87) from Mzamba Rural Village outside Mbizana town in the Eastern Cape, said that the image of how he ran away from the police vehicle are still in his mind.
The African National Congress (ANC) and the rest of Harding community, especially Ugu district, is under a dark cloud, following the death of the Mayor, Wilson Memela (68).
A WALKING "dead man" who appeared in the mountainous Buhlanyanga rural village in Lusikisiki, has sent shock waves through the community of the area. Mfaniswa Sikhwebu was declared dead and buried at his home in 2000, but is now walking freely, scaring locals who think he is a living ghost.
THE Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) recently re-established a Chapter in Amanzimtoti. CMA originated in KwaZulu-Natal in Toti 22 years ago, eight years after it was started by Rene Changuion in Krugersdorp. The newly formed Chapter, called Sons Riders, then relocated to Durban and grew in membership across the province after which it officially became known as CMA.
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