The family of Nkosi Shabalala, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) activist who was killed on 18 January this year in front of his kids and wife, are concerned with the slow pace of the police investigations into the case. 

Shabalala was from Bergville in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, but lived in Clermont as he was a teacher at Eric Mtshali Secondary School near Pinetown.

He was also the head of the department for physical science and mathematics.

According to a statement issued by SADTU after Shabalala was killed, a group of criminals stormed his house and demanded cell phones from everyone in the house. 

No one resisted, but the criminals did not take Shabalala’s phone. Instead, they killed him and left. 

According to Shabalala’s sister, Thuli, almost a month after her brother was killed, the investigating officer is yet to obtain statements from all who were in the house.

“I don’t see any difficulty in obtaining these statements as all the people who were in the house are known and the investigating officer has their addresses. This is leaving us with a lot of suspicions,” Thuli said. 

She said that as a family, they are still aggrieved that her brother had a licenced gun that was stolen while he was with his friends and a few days later, he was killed. 

“We believe that the gun was taken by someone he knows and someone who was in the house,” Shabalala’s sister charged.

The police said the case of murder was registered in KwaDabeka and it is under investigation.

“Police in KwaDabeka have opened a case of murder following an incident in which a 53-year-old man was allegedly shot and killed by two unknown men on 18 January 2025 at Induduma area. 

“Reports indicate that the victim was at his place of residence with a friend when they were ambushed by two armed suspects who demanded cellphone before opening fire, fatally wounding the 53-year-old man,” the police said.