Outrage over assassination of Inkosi Mathonsi
The motive for the murder of Chief Linda Mathonsi is unclear at this stage
NEWS of the killing of Inkosi Linda Mathonsi (57) spread like wildfire on Monday evening after he was brutally gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Sundumbili near Mandeni.
According to IPSS Medical Rescue’s Paul Herbst, paramedics arrived on scene to find Chief Mathonsi already deceased after sustaining gunshots to the neck and head.
His daughter, who was traveling home with him at around 6pm, was wounded in the arm as nknown gunmen opened fire as the pair were driving past the Sundumbili Library.
‘She was taken to a local hospital for further treatment,’ he said.
The motive for the killing is unknown at this stage.
MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KZN, Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Monday night expressed her ‘outrage and shock’ at the killing.
‘This heinous crime cannot go unpunished. We urge the police to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for his murderers,’ Dube-Ncube said.
‘As the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we have worked tirelessly over the years to rid our province of the past image as a backward area ravaged by violence and killings.
Photo – Kyle Cowan
‘The killing of Inkosi and other public representatives recently is casting a shadow over the journey to peace we have travelled as the province,’ she said, referring to the murder of Councillor Ace Houston in Harding last week.
‘We must not allow criminal elements to take us back. We are appealing to anyone with information to come forward so that the doers of this dastardly deed can be brought to justice,’ she concluded.
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) national chairman Blessed Gwala also expressed shock at the news.
‘We are deeply shocked and devastated by this brutal act that leaves us lost for words,’ Gwala said in a statement on Monday.
‘Among Amakhosi, he was highly respected and was ever-willing to assist and give advice in solving community issues.
‘It is shocking that such a valued citizen of KwaZulu-Natal has to depart this life in such a tragic manner,’ he said.
He also called on the SAPS and the Hawks to utilise all resources at their disposal to find the suspects to ensure justice is done.
Inkosi Mathonsi came under fire earlier this year when protests erupted at iSithebe.
One of the reasons given by protestors for their actions was the appointment by Mathonsi of an induna they did not approve of.
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