Local political parties have all expressed their deepest condolences to the family of ANC Youth League regional secretary Oscar Dondashe who was murdered in the early hours of Sunday 12 July.
Local political parties have all expressed their deepest condolences to the family of ANC Youth League regional secretary Oscar Dondashe who was murdered in the early hours of Sunday 12 July.
Manise Bambiso, the ANC Youth League chairperson in Ward 7, said he was with 24-year-old Dondashe the night before he was killed in V Street. “We were involved in ANC programmes which forced us to be together that night,” he explained. “I was devastated when I heard he was killed on Sunday morning.”
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Bambiso said his branch was shocked by the incident as they have been conducting National Youth Service programmes in which Dondashe was instrumental. “We sincerely express our deepest condolescences to the Dondashe family and we’ll ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book as the law of the republic has to take its due course,” he added.
He called for the reinstatement of street committees to enhance community safety and security. “Immediately after Dondashe’s funeral we will facilitate for the establishment of street committees throughout Makana, which we will achieve through working with mayor Vumile Lwana,” he said.
He also said that the party will ensure that Dondashe’s funeral will be successful and dignified. The Young Communist League describes his death as a loss not only to his family “but to the millions of working class and poor young people who were inspired by his political ideology and sizzling talent”.
“Justice should take its course without doubt, as the Progressive Youth Alliance structures we’ll ensure that those who have undermined the law are locked up and the keys to their cell thrown in the sea,” said Cacadu district convenor Khotso Moleli.
He said that his party demands that those who cannot live among human beings be kept away from those who can. “We call upon our community to come together and fight crime very strongly,” he said.
The Democratic Alliance in Makana regrets the “unfortunate” tragic loss and expressed its deepest condolence to the Dondashe family and the ANC movement. Chairperson Jock McConnachie said: “The prevalence of these kind of incidents in the proximity of taverns is serious, the management of such institutions needs to do something about them.”
Police spokesperson Captain Ndivelafhi Mamuthubi said the police are still investigating the case. When asked why only one of the four suspects which were arrested on Sunday appeared in court this week, he said that because the investigation has not been concluded the other three suspects cannot be linked to the crime. He could not say whether more arrests could be expected and declined to say how the suspect is linked to the murder.
Makana Mayor Vumile Lwana said the murder has left a wound that cannot be healed when one considers Dondashe’s character and contribution to the the ANC. "It’s a very big loss to the struggle for youth development in Makana and the whole Cacadu district," he said.
Lwana said he had talked to him less than eight hours before his murder because Dondashe had been working on an ANC assignment. "I was awaiting report back on his assignment when the sad news were broken to me on Sunday morning," he said.
He appealed to young people to not only to mourn Dondashe’s life but also to celebrate it. "His legacy should live on, and we must seek to rid our community of the prevalent crime because we can’t afford to live in fear," he said.
Phakamisa Zathu, Azapo chaiman in Makana, said his party rejects acts of criminal violence not only because the victim was a politician. "The manner in which young people carry themselves in entertainment institutions is disconcerting," he said.
He said his party was concerned about the fact that the youth have no alternative entertainment institutions and find themselves forced to go to taverns to have fun.
