ANC man assassinated - wife

2005-03-28 15:39

Bloemfontein - Nokwanda Ngombane, wife of murdered senior Free State official Noby Ngombane, said on Monday that her husband was assassinated by people who were doing what they were not entitled to do.

"We (are) talking about a political assassination and that is what it is," she said.

Ngombane was speaking in Bloemfontein at the funeral of her husband, advisor to two former Free State premiers and head of the policy monitoring and evaluation unit in the current Free State Premier's office.

Noby Ngombane was shot dead outside his home in Bloemfontein last week by as yet unidentified gunmen.

"Let us not beat around the bush when it is said that this murder is a mystery whose motives are unclear.

"We are talking about a political killing," Ngombane said.

She also criticised comment in the media on her husband's character by some people.

Nokwanda - who is Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff's personal assistant - said an atmosphere of destruction of Ngombane's personal dignity and spirit began long before "the assassin" took his life.

"A climate has been created which justifies the pulling of the trigger, so that when the time came, it appears as if the murderers were doing the Free State province a favour," she said.

She said it was well known that her husband was surrounded by controversy, that he made many enemies and that his style was sometimes abrasive.

"One thing I know, his enemies and some of whom are present here today, know very well too, is that Noby was absolutely honest."

In her address to mourners, Marshoff asked for more space for authorities to investigate the death of a senior official in her office last week.

Courageous

She said it was insensitive to speculate about Ngombane's death.

"Let's all refrain from speculating on the cause of death," Marshoff said.

"We also refuse to believe that the ANC would encourage its leaders to resolve issues through such acts."

The premier said Ngombane's death was not only a loss to his family but a loss to the whole democratic movement.

"He was a courageous young leader and intellectual," she said.

She said Ngubane called "a spade a spade" and believed that personal clashes were unimportant in the fight to forward the ANC's and government's policies to eradicate poverty.

"He was at times impatient and even harsh with those of us who seemed too slow to move forward," Marshoff said.

She said the Free State government should not be deterred by "faceless cowards" in doing its work.

Marshoff, who broke down during the funeral service and had to be treated by paramedics at one stage, called on anyone with information about Ngombane's death to work with police.

Hundreds of mourners, friends and colleagues attended Ngombane's funeral held at the Central University of Technology's Boet Troskie Hall in Bloemfontein.

After the service Ngombane's body was interred at the Memorial Cemetery in Uitsig.

- SAPA