Speaker pays tribute to slain Councillor Dokolwane

26 February 2016

 

City of Johannesburg’s Speaker of Council, Councillor Connie Bapela, yesterday paid tribute to ANC Councillor Mbuyiseni Dokolwane, who was gunned down at his Freedom Park home on Monday night.  She also conveyed the City’s condolences to Councillor Dokolwane’s distraught family.

 

Speaking shortly after the opening of this month’s council meeting at the Council Chambers in Braamfontein, Councillor Bapela said it was with “a heavy heart” that she had to officially announce the tragic death of Councillor Dokolwane.

 

The Speaker expressed deep shock and concern at the spate of killing of City of Johannesburg councillors.  Councillor Dokolwane’s slaying comes less than two months after the killing of his colleague and fellow ANC member, Councillor Siphiwe Zulu. The 52-year-old Zulu was gunned down in Zola, Soweto, on New Year’s Eve.  Councillor Dokolwane is believed to have been killed after returning from an ANC branch meeting in Braamfontein.  

 

Councillor Bapela said the law must take its course, adding that the council was confident that the police would do their work and bring the killers to book soon.  The ANC in Gauteng and the South African Local Government Association have both condemned Dokolwane’s killing and called for the swift arrest of the perpetrators.

 

Dokolwane will be buried at his hometown of Cala in the Eastern Cape on Sunday February 28.  Councillor Bapela appealed to all councillors to attend the funeral and pay their respects to their colleague. Transport to the funeral has been arranged.

 

Yesterday’s council meeting was also attended by councillors from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, who were on a “benchmark visit”.