KTC South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) veteran Lumkile Msila died in the early hours of Wednesday, 7 October. Msila died at Tsolo in the Eastern Cape after a short illness.

KTC Sanco chair Nkosikhona Mafenuka described Msila’s death as a wound that would never heal. He said Msila had served in various positions within the civic organisation for more than three decades.

A wound that would never heal

“As Sanco, we have lost a leader who dedicated his life to working for the community. Msila was the face of Sanco in KTC. We knew that he was sick, but we were hoping that he would recover. When I received the news this morning I was shattered,” said Mafenuka, adding that Msila had been active in the organisation.

He described Msila as a people’s person who was always laughing.

Ward 38 councillor Suzanne Zumana described Msila’s death as a huge blow, not only to his family but to KTC as a whole. She said he was a well-respected leader.

He loved the ANC and Sanco

“He was a nice person. He liked to share jokes. But he loved the African National Congress and Sanco. When I arrived in KTC in the early 2000s, Msila was the leader of Sanco,” said Zumana. She added that Msila was not desperate for positions, but was elected by the community. Zumana said his death came at a difficult time, as they were facing the local government elections next month when they needed him the most.

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Mafenuka assured the community that they would do something to commemorate Msila.

“We will meet soon as Sanco leadership to try to organise something for him. We need to hold a memorial service for him,” he said.