Members of the police gathered at Hillbrow Police Station’s main hall to pay tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Thandi Mkhize who passed away in the early hours of 21 November at the age of 49.
She was shot 14 times in 2011 by Rosebank Police Station admin clerk, David Kekana. She was the station commander at the time of the incident.
“She was like a mother to the station, she was such a great leader, a rock to the members of the station. I am so proud of her, I really looked up to her,” said an emotional Captain Gerhard Steyn at the memorial service.
He added that Mkhize showed such dedication and, even after the incident, she would still call the station to find out how things were going. Steyn said she had left a very good legacy that he would remember forever. “She would always say everything can be done, never say you can’t do something, try first.”
According to spokesperson for the station, Sergeant Bongi Mdletshe, Mkhize never fully recovered after the incident. She did, however, try to go back to work in 2012 but unfortunately suffered a heart attack and a stroke and was only boarded off the police force this year in March.
Former chairperson of the Rosebank Policing Forum, Philip Pybus spoke at the memorial and said he would like to remember her as Thandi, the kind person she was, how she worked with the community, and how they both helped each other while working together.
The Rosebank community paid their tribute by saying, “She’s the sun, the wind, the rain, and she is in the air you breathe with every breath you take. She sings a song of hope and cheer, there is no more pain, no more fear. You will see her in the clouds above, hear her whisper words of love. You will be together before long until then listen to her song.
Johannesburg East Cluster Commander, Major General Dimakatso Ndaba promised Mkhize’s family that she would receive an official police funeral. “She deserves this, she was so dedicated to the police force despite what had happened to her. This is a unique incident that happened to her, so even though she was boarded, she deserves this from the police for her strong will,” said Ndaba.
Mkhize leaves behind her husband and two children.
Kekana also shot another policewoman, Captain Neelavathi Naidu who died on the scene. Kekana had walked into Mkhize’s office and shot her twice and then shot Naidu in her office. He then allegedly went back into Mkhize’s office and shot her 12 more times.
Kekana then committed suicide at the station.
The memorial service of the late Colonel Thandi Mkhize is underway at Hillbrow police hall @RK_Gazette pic.twitter.com/ADMrUQGaGu
— Shanice Naidoo (@shanicey) November 23, 2016
Mkhize’s funeral took place on 26 November, she was laid to rest at the Westpark Cemetery.
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