Siphelele Nketo
CONDOLENCES have been pouring in since the recent announcement of the death of Matatiele Local Municipality Chief Whip of Council, Nomonde Nkukhu.
Nkukhu worked as a member of the municipal council with the responsibility of chief whip of council.
She joined the municipality in 2006 as a ward committee member, and in 2011 she was elected as a Ward 5 councillor. In 2017, she was appointed as the portfolio head responsible for Economic Development and Planning, a position she held until 2021.
After the 2021 local government elections, she was appointed as the chief whip of council. The Matatiele Local Municipality mayor Patrick Stuurman said the municipality has lost a committed member of the council who carried her duties with care.
Several councillors, municipal employees and political leaders have shared their tributes in a condolence book at the Maggie Tsiu-Resha Building in Matatiele.
According to the municipality, the book is meant to offer an official platform for councillors, municipal employees, community members and stakeholders to convey their condolences and pay tribute to the late Nkukhu. One of the councillors was municipal speaker Nonzwakazi Ngwanya who shared her tribute and explained that the condolence book was designed to honour the life and legacy of Councillor Nkukhu, to allow communities to share messages of comfort, and express solidarity with Nkukhu’s family. The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape also mourned the passing of Nkukhu, while the Alfred Nzo District Municipality mayor Tsileng Sobuthongo conveyed her heartfelt condolences to the Nkukhu family.
“Councillor Nkukhu will be remembered for her contribution to the transformation and development of the lives of communities, particularly in the Mzongwana area, where she hailed from,” Sobuthongo said. Councillor Nkukhu will be laid to rest on October 17 at KwaMzongwana in Matatiele.
