MDC-T MP's burial sparks nasty fight

FAMILY members of the late Member of Parliament for Nkulumane constituency in Bulawayo, Thamsanqa Mahlangu, are embroiled in a brutal fight for the right to bury the youthful legislator who succumbed to cancer on Monday.

There was confusion last night over the burial date due to alleged clashes between Mahlangu's stepfather and his biological father and mother's family members.

Initially, Mahlangu was reportedly supposed to be buried today but the MDC-T yesterday announced that the legislator would now be buried tomorrow at Lady Stanley Cemetery.

The Chronicle was last night told of a fierce fight among family members regarding the burial processes for the legislator with sources saying Mahlangu's stepfather, only identified as Mugova, wanted to take charge of proceedings arguing that the late MP was "given to him by ancestors".

Mugova, sources said, wanted Mahlangu to be buried today but Mahlangu's paternal family, the Sangos and his maternal relatives, the Mahlangus, insisted that he be buried tomorrow.

As a result, sources revealed, there are now two funeral wakes, one in Nkulumane at Mugova's house and the other in Luveve at Mahlangu's paternal family.

The sources said Mugova was married to Mahlangu's mother (now late) and started living with the legislator after he completed his Advanced Level studies.

All along, Mahlangu had been living with his father's family in Luveve.

Yesterday, this paper was told that the families are also fighting over where Mahlangu's body would lie in state with the Mugovas and Sangos demanding that the body of the former MDC-T youth leader leaves from their houses.

"Now there is a fight between those three families over the burial of Mahlangu. The Mahlangu and Sango families, who are neighbours in Luveve, were agreed that Mahlangu be buried on Saturday at Lady Stanley cemetery," said the source.

"The problem now is Mugova has the burial order. The other families can't bury him without that document.

"There are now two funeral wakes after Mahlangu's uncles, the Sangos, arrived from overseas and decided that people gather in Luveve."

According to sources, Mahlangu lived with the Sangos until he finished his A-Levels when he moved to Nkulumane to live with his mother and stepfather.

The sources said Mahlangu joined politics while living in Nkulumane, landing the MDC-T's youth chairperson's post and later a seat in Parliament.

He also had a brief stint as deputy minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment during the days of the inclusive government.

"Another looming battle is over Mahlangu's property particularly the vehicles that the Mugovas are reportedly holding on to. The estate is going to cause serious fights because Mahlangu's wife is not even being consulted on the matter," said the source.

"As it is Mugova's young brother called Joachim is said to be in possession of all of Mahlangu's bank cards and is driving the Toyota Prado that Mahlangu got from the government."

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has reportedly advised the Bulawayo provincial structures to wait until the families resolve their differences and stand guided by their decisions.

Besides the family feud, there is a reported side show where MDC-T members under deputy president Thokozani Khupe's camp are accusing those linked to former organising secretary Nelson Chamisa of trying to hijack the process.

Bulawayo deputy Mayor Gift Banda yesterday dismissed reports of factions fighting to take charge of the burial process.

"There is no truth to those reports. As a party that respects our culture, we wait for guidance from the family. What the family will communicate to us is what we will follow," he said.

The Mugova and Sango families were unreachable for comment yesterday.