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Kwalunga Mbatha,17, was a Grade 12 pupil at Richard Vara Senior Secondary School.
- An Eastern Cape family is searching for answers after their child was gunned down by an unknown assailant.
- The 17-year-old Kwalunga Mbatha was a rising soccer star.
- Family and friends said they believe the killing was linked to football.
The family of a young gifted Eastern Cape soccer player cannot cope with their pain after their 17-year-old rising star was shot dead by an unknown gunman.
The SAB regional league player, Kwalunga Mbatha, died instantly after an assailant shot him three times in the head outside a spaza shop on 28 April.
The incident happened at Dimbaza's Phola Park Location at 16:50, according to the Eastern Cape police.
Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said they were investigating the circumstances behind the murder and that no one had been arrested yet.
Mbatha had been playing for teams in the Dimbaza Local Football Association before Gunners Football Club snatched him after it won playoffs and proceeded to the SAB Regional League in July/August.
“He was one of the most sought-after players by Dimbaza teams, and some people were angered by the fact that, despite numerous efforts made to convince him to play for their teams, he rejected them,” said a family friend.
His traumatised mother, Zovuyo Mbatha, was too distraught to speak to the media.
Family member Mthetheleli Mbatha told journalists that the devastated family was looking for answers.
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"We don't understand who would kill such a respectful young man. We are not talking about a child who was a rebellious troublemaker smoking drugs. He loved football, school and was mostly indoors. This has left us confused. We are still searching for answers," said Mbatha.
The family friend, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said people from Dimbaza were too scared to discuss the incident.
She said Mbatha was on his way to meet with his teammates when he was gunned down.
“He received an SMS alerting him to meet for a quick team talk. While walking with a friend, they entered a Spaza shop along the way, and when he exited the shop, a VW Polo stopped, and a man came out and shot him three times in the head at point blank,” the family friend said.
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“Everyone claims they did not see anything, yet the street was busy outside the Spaza shop, and there was a traditional ceremony which drew dozens of people near the crime scene,” she said.
Mbatha was a Grade 12 pupil at Richard Vara Senior Secondary School.
Gunners coach Njabulo Ngema said the team had lost one of its hardest-working players and will sorely miss him.
Ngema said Mbatha was an exemplary young man both on and off the pitch.
“He was a humble and most respectful person. On the field he excelled. We would suffer when he was busy with schoolwork and could not play. He was a very gifted player,” Ngema added.
Mbatha, an attacking midfielder, wore the team’s hallowed number-15 jersey.
He will be buried on Saturday at his Phola Park home.
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