The sudden passing of former AbaQulusi mayor, Martin Mtshali, this evening came as a shock to the IFP and to his colleagues in the council.
It is believed that Cllr Mtshali had been feeling unwell since early this week.
He was rushed to La Verna Private Hospital in Ladysmith by ambulance at about 3am today from his home in Mondlo.
Cllr Mtshali’s successor, Mayor Jerry Sibiya, said he was with Cllr Mtshali roughly an hour before he passed on.
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“The speaker, Cllr Michael Khumalo, and I went to the hospital this afternoon just after Cllr Khumalo was finished at court to see how Cllr Mtshali was doing. When we got there, he raised his hands to greet us, saying, ‘My leadership! I am happy to see you.’ We asked him what was wrong and he told us he had been vomiting blood but he was feeling better. We stayed with him until he started looking tired and then returned to Vryheid. I was just entering Vryheid, when I got the bad news that he had passed on,” said Cllr Sibiya. “I still can’t believe it.”
Cllr Sibiya had known Cllr Mtshali since 1982, when Cllr Mtshali had still been the principal at the school in Coronation.
“When I came from Johannesburg in 1991 and began my political career in Vryheid, the first person I had to deal with, was him. Once, when he just took on the mayorship of Vryheid after the first local government elections, a grenade was thrown into his house… And he survived that. I worked with him when he was an independent and when he started a Ratepayers’ Association. He was very supportive when I proposed that the name of Vryheid be officially changed to AbaQulusi, and when Mondlo became part of Vryheid, he was a part of those negotiations,” continued Cllr Sibiya.
“He is the politician I have worked most closely with over the years. For me, his passing is a great loss. Not only have I lost a valued member of the council, I have also lost a friend and a man I can trust.
“I would like to convey my deepest sympathies to Vryheid, to the Mondlo community that voted for him, to the IFP and, most of all, to his family. I will be calling a special Exco meeting to discuss his funeral arrangements.”
The DA offered the following message of condolence through Cllr Alta de Kock, “The DA is deeply saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing away of our Exco member and Ward 18 IFP councillor, and ex-mayor, Martin Mtshali. We wish to express our deepest sympathy to the Mtshali family and friends of the late Martin Mtshali. May his soul rest in peace. We will miss him dearly.”
At the time of his passing, Cllr Mtshali had been serving AbaQulusi Municipality as the Chairperson of the Technical Services portfolio, and was also a member of the Finance portfolio and the Community Services portfolio.
The Vryheid Herald extends its condolences to the Mtshali family.
