Anele Mdizeni had an childhood in which laughter was treasured. At his death, the family gathered in a rondavel, lit only by a single candle, and decided to remember only the good times they enjoyed with him in his short life.
Anele grew up in Cwede near Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape, and started working at the mine when he was 22. Seven years later, he was shot dead.
Vuyisani, his brother, remembered Anele as a talkative young man who went out of his way to make people laugh. “My brother wanted a good life for his family and he knew he had to work hard to achieve his dreams. He took great pride in his job.”
Luvuyo Mveli, Anele’s cousin, said, “We would be in stitches all day. We’d actually go hungry because of laughter. When he saw that his jokes had made us hungry, he would dig into his pocket and buy us some bread.”
His mother, Notshovile Mdizeni, said they were expecting so much from Anele. “My son had big dreams. He wanted to buy a car especially to transport me around.”
Luvuyo said the day they heard Anele had been killed was “a very painful day – everyone was wailing. I can’t explain it any further because it hurts so much.”
Anele, a fervent Pirates fan, married in 2009 and has one child, Asisipho (6). – Thanduxolo Jika
Anele & I were working together at lamphouse. He was transferred to lamphouse from another shaft working at ventilation. We were like mother & son even in lamphouse they called him my child because evrything that I was doing, he was doing it even if it was wrong. When they ask him y he will say my mother was doing it. I was his acting team leader. He did not listen to me until I say I’m going to report him & he will say, suster unga yenze lonto. When I come with meat he will come to me & we share not being afraid that I will bewitch him. I use to send him to buy me food not being afraid that he will bewitch me. He was like a brother to me, evrything tha they say about me he will tell me the same goes with me. I will always miss him, he will always be my brother at work. RIP.
I could not believe when another guy comes to my house to tell me that Anele was no more. I thought he was just joking & I entered the house & he told my husband tha he must tell me that he was from the mortuary still, I could not believe. Even now I can’t believe, it is as if ke tla kopana le ene or ka mmona. I see him even in my dreams. I used to call him & ask him if he was going to the meeting & he will say no. Just minutes after the meeting my husband called & tell me we should lock ourselves in the house, we did that & after that I called him & asked him what was wrong & he said they were shooting. The first person I called was Anele but his phone was off. I tried to call him several times but nothing until I hear terrible news. I don’t know if I will cope with my High Blood Pressure but I’m praying 4 his wife. Even when he was ill some months ago I was the one who was calling him at lamphouse. ” I will always remember you my brother” May your soul rest in peace.
Thanks for your contribution. Please let others that you know who may have known some of the deceased about this site and encourage them to share their tributes so that we can continue to tell their stories. Andrew Trench, editor m24i