Lindani Myeni was a 'victim of a racist-inspired war' — KZN MEC Nkonyeni

The US is a nation that “promises big dreams in appearance, but in essence has racial categories for those dreams”, KwaZulu-Natal transport, community safety and liaison MEC Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni said on Saturday.

Speaking at the emotionally-charged funeral of slain former rugby player Lindani Myeni in Empangeni, Nkoyeni said the unmitigated state power resting in the hands of white police officials in the US reflected “a microcosm of that country’s attitude towards other countries, that it exports war and misery in return for minerals”.

“The American police did not only kill a father, son, an uncle, a brother, an exceptional sportsman, but they also killed a cultural activist from whom they could have benefited immensely given the cultural deficiencies with racist undertones prevalent today in the USA.

“The death of Lindani Myeni must not be seen as just another isolated racist and systemic incident, it should be viewed within the context of the USA’s politics of domination and racially motivated exclusions, an unwritten policy that criminalises blackness,” she said.

Myeni, a former club rugby player from KwaZulu-Natal, was shot dead by Hawaii police in an altercation last month after police responded to an alleged “burglary in progress” at a home in Nuuanu.

The KwaZulu-Natal government was instrumental in the repatriation of Myeni’s remains from Hawaii to SA.

“As we lay Lindani to rest today, we promise that we shall never rest on our laurels until those who killed him are brought to book. Justice must be served, his death must not become a statistic, it should never be in vain,” said Nkonyeni.

Myeni's wife, Lindsay, said she trusted him from the moment they met.

“To me, he was my home. He was safety. He kind of fell in love with me for the way I trusted him. He said to me 'wow, you trust me so much, I am so amazed that you trust me'.”

She said her husband was a good man, who always sought the truth.

Since his death, she has asked God if her husband is OK.

“I keep asking God if he is OK. I know I will OK. I know the kids will be OK. But I need to know if he is OK.”

She said they had spoken about dying together at the age of 99 in a painless car crash.

“But he had to go to change the world. There are people praying for him in Rome. There are people praying for him in Nigeria.”

TimesLIVE