DURBAN - MEET Siboniso Zungu, the youngest mayor in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zungu, 29, was conferred the mayoral chains of Muziwabantu Municipality, Harding, on the KZN south coast.
His life changed permanently when his leg was amputated in October last year after he was shot by his friend - a police officer at the time.
Zungu had intervened to protect a woman who was held at gunpoint by her boyfriend.
Recalling the incident, Zungu said his friend -- who was under the influence of alcohol -- had a fight with his girlfriend.
“They had a long argument; my friend later pulled his gun and pointed it towards his girlfriend. He dragged her inside the room. We thought they were going to resolve their differences inside the house, but as I was about to leave I heard the woman screaming.
“I could not ignore the situation. Having seen him pulling a gun, I rushed back inside the house and found him pointing the gun at his girlfriend.
“I intervened and a scuffle ensued. I got shot on my right leg, but we continued as he became more aggressive. As I was bleeding heavily I eventually lost energy. My other friend came and rushed me to the local hospital.
“Due to the severity of my wound I had to be transferred to Margate hospital, but it was too late.
Upon our arrival, I was informed that my leg would have to be amputated as I had bled for too long,” Zungu recalled.
He later had to use an artificial leg.
Although he later found that the woman in question returned to her abusive partner, he said he has no regret for standing up to protect her.
“He could have killed her. I’m glad that I intervened to save her life and I lived to tell the tale,” he added.
As the country was still observing 16 days of activism against women and child abuse, Zungu used his story to motivate other men to take the initiative to end the scourge.
The incident also did not hinder his political ambitions, as he was elected mayor.
Talking about his political journey, the Language Translation and Interpretation graduate joined politics while he was in high school as a member of Cosas.
He worked at the Harding Magistrate’s Court as a court interpreter, but recently resigned to take up the mayoral position of the small town.
“I have been active at a branch level and I was a branch executive committee member. I was elected as the branch election manager by my party, the ANC, and led the ward to victory as I contested as ward councillor.”
Zungu said he scored well during the interview round for mayoral candidates.
He said as a young person he related better to the issues affecting the people of Harding, and would prioritise skills development which would create jobs.
“Our town is rich in timber, but people are not benefiting from that. Most of our timber gets exported to other countries. We must maximise our potential by opening opportunities for carpenters so we can utilise the resources we have to create jobs.
“Our key infrastructure, as the municipality, is ageing, and we need to attend to that so we can attract investors. I will be leading the executive committee to several programmes that we believe will bring a much-needed change in our town,” he said.
Zungu has been involved in anti-gender-based violence activities, which he said would be incorporated into his mayoral programmes.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE