Gabriel Mkhumane

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Gabriel Mkhumane (died April 1, 2008) was a Swazi physician and opposition leader. He was the deputy president of the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), Swaziland's main opposition party. [1]

Once working as a physician at Themba Hospital in Nelspruit, Mkhumane was in self-imposed exile, having left Swaziland in 1984 [2] to live in Maputo, then in Cuba, where he received his medical training and lived for 15 years. [2] According to the Swaziland Solidarity Network, he provided the impoverished with free medical services. [2] To be nearer to his home country, Mkhumane settled in South Africa in 2000. [1] [2] He was married to Soraida and had two sons, Lizwi and Lizo (three weeks old at the time of his father's death). [2] Despite his exile, he had been active in Pudemo-related activities such as marketing the Kingdom as an oppressive regime which hates democracy. [3]

Mkhumane was murdered on April 1, 2008, in Nelspruit, after attending a meeting to discuss blocking goods travelling to Swaziland. [1] The annual blockade was to be held on April 12, the anniversary of when King Sobhuza II outlawed all political parties. [1] It was later called off due to Mkhumane's death. [1] He was gunned down in an ambush on his car and his killers quickly left after the crime. [3] The official version of his murder is that he was killed in a random act of villainy, although some Pudemo supporters disagree, including its president, Mario Masuku. [1] They claim Mkhumane was murdered by the Swazi government, pointing to the fact that Swazi police told his mother that he would come home "wrapped in a black bag" hours before his death was reported. [1] His family members also claimed he began fearing for his life shortly before his death. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nxumalo, Donny (2008-04-24). "Who killed Pudemo leader?". Mail and Guardian . Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Murder will not go unpunished". Swaziland Solidarity Network . 2008-04-02.
  3. 1 2 Nxumalo, Donny (2008-04-03). "PUDEMO Chief shot dead". The Swazi Observer .
  4. ↑ Msomi, S’Thembiso. "Why no outcry over Swaziland?". The Times of Zimbabwe . Retrieved 2008-07-30.[ permanent dead link ]
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