ANC NEC member Nomvula Mokonyane visits bereaved families in Meadowlands
Amongst the visited families on Friday, July 22 was the Ndlovu family who has lost their 14-year-old during the unrest.
African National Congress (ANC) member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), Nomvula Mokonyane, alongside several members of the party, including ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini visited six out of the ten families who lost their loved ones in Meadowlands, during a looting spree that took place about two weeks ago.
Amongst the visited families on Friday, July 22 was the Ndlovu family who lost their 14-year-old daughter during the unrest. Explaining the purpose of the visit Mokonyane said they wanted to show support to the grief-stricken families.
“We are here because in our own culture we never stop paying condolences. We have come here to pay condolences to the beavered families but also to have an appreciation of the extent of their hurt and the pain. In Africa, we believe that every child is my child, most of those who lost their lives here are young people and I think it’s an indictment on us as society that our young people could take such risks and end up losing their lives,” said Monkonyane, the former Minister of Environmental Affairs.
Monkonyane’s delegation was made up of the national leadership of the ANC Women’s League ANC NEC and Gauteng provincial leadership.
More than 300 people died during the violent riots and looting spree that hit Gauteng and KZN two weeks ago. ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini said it is unfortunate that all those who lost their lives in Meadowlands are young people who were unemployed.  Â
“That is a sign that we must look at issues of inequality, unemployment and poverty. Because if we don’t deal with those, we will unfortunately have a nation like the one we have now. While watching TV I saw a young boy who went into the stores, took underwear and tekkies and that on its own sends a message. We have a responsibility and a mandate to change people’s lives. We believe that the situation could have been handled better,” said Dlamini.
Government promised to offer all families who lost their loved ones the necessary psychological support.
