MK Party official and ex-journalist Canaan Mdletshe dies in KZN crash

MK Party KwaZulu-Natal communications head and former journalist Canaan Mdletshe has died in a car crash.

The party confirmed in a statement the accident happened while Mdletshe was on his way from a by-election in ward 16 in Mtubatuba on Thursday.

“While we cannot fathom the extent of the excruciating anguish of grief from this tragedy, the leadership of MK Party wishes to convey its deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family of commander Mdletshe. We would like to reassure the family that MK Party is committed in supporting them in this trying time,” the party said.

“uMkhonto wegwala ufela etsheni [the coward's spear dies on the stone]. However, commander Mdletshe was no coward; he picked up his spear and fought for the downtrodden and marginalised of our people. MK Party salutes his bravery and may his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Mdletshe joined the MK Party in August after leaving the National Freedom Party (NFP), where he had served as its secretary-general, shortly after it joined the government of provincial unity in June.

Along with leading the provincial communications team, Mdletshe was also the party’s national elections head and a member of KZN detachment team led by Willies Mchunu.

An MK Party official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told TimesLIVE Mdletshe was involved in the party’s preparations for its upcoming first anniversary in Durban.

“We were with him yesterday [Thursday] at Coastlands Hotel in Durban together with Floyd [Shivambu]. We were continuing with the plans for the party’s first anniversary on December 16 and he had met with the marshals,” she said.

Before joining politics, Mdletshe was a journalist at the Sowetan and The Times.

TimesLIVE