SADTU KZN STATEMENT ON THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF CDE NKOSINGIPHILE SHABALALA
SADTU KwaZulu-Natal has learned with great shock about the brutal killing of Cde Nkosingiphile Christian Shabalala of Erick Mtshali Secondary School in the Archie Gumede Branch, Pinetown District within the Mzi Mthembu Region. Cde
Nkosingiphile was shot and killed in cold blood on the evening of 17 January 2025 in front of his wife, his sister and other members of the family.
It is alleged that some thugs stormed his Claremont family house at night, armed with guns and demanded cellphones and valuable items from those that were in the house. Indeed, their cellphones were confiscated except for that of Cde Nkosingiphile. It is further said that there was no resistance from victims, yet despite this, Cde Nkosingiphile was shot and killed.
The SADTU KwaZulu-Natal continues to mourn this loss, which has left the family, and all of us devastated, as we have lost a loyal member and leader of our Union. Comrade Shabalala served as the Site Steward of Eric Mtshali Secondary for three terms.
Over and above that, Cde Shabalala was a scholar and a part of school management team, as he possessed a Master’s degree in chemistry and was the Departmental Head for Physical Science and Mathematics. At the time of departure, the school was still celebrating its excellent results, having achieved a pass rate of over 90% in Physical Science in 2024 NSC results.
At this point the criminals are still at large, and as SADTU KwaZulu-Natal, we are calling for anyone with information that can lead to the apprehension of these ruthless killers to come forward and report it to the nearest law enforcement agencies.
SADTU further passes her words of condolences to the Shabalala family, Eric Mtshali Secondary staff and learners, as well as to Archie Gumede Branch which has lost a member of the Site Steward Council.
We further condemn the level of crime in our society that has turned communities into daily victims of such acts. Our schools and teachers, as part of society, continue to become recipients of acts of crime, which SADTU continues to fight against through our “I AM A SCHOOL FAN” campaign as we continue to invite communities to be part of.
Issued by KZN SADTU Provincial Secretariat