Cape Town - Nyanga East residents together with the family of slain artist Zolani Nikani have slammed Congress of SA Students (Cosas) leaders after reneging on their promise to the family to foot the bill for his funeral.
Instead of providing financial aid, the Cosas leaders vanished into thin air, a day before the funeral, residents said.
Nikani was stabbed to death by a close friend after a brief argument.
Equal Rights Forum leader Thulani Phike said the three Cosas leaders gatecrashed the community fundraising event and committed to contribute to the funeral.
“They came to our fundraising event last Sunday and pledged R10 000 towards the funeral and even visited the family where they made commitments to his mother.
“They also claimed that they contributed towards Amahle Quku and even paid for transport for her family to the Eastern Cape.They stated that they will be contributing towards the funeral and R5 000 towards Zolani’s youth development project.
“We then stated the plight of the Zolani’s family and requested them to donate the whole R10 000 towards the funeral.
“On Monday they visited the family where they made a commitment to the mother and requested her banking details. Up until Friday they were nowhere to be seen and had switched off their phones,” said Phike.
Nomathamsanqa Nikani said when she met the Cosas leaders she made them aware that she had deposited only R 2 600 of the R15 00 for the undertaker and they requested the undertaker's quotation.
“I feel abused and I am devastated because they almost ruined my son's funeral. On Friday the undertaker was even suggesting that we postpone the funeral but I had to borrow money that I don't know what I am going to repay with because of their empty promises,” she said.
In a statement Cosas said it committed “logistical” assistance to the value of R5 000 and R5 000 towards youth development programs for scholars and artists of Nyanga.
“The mother of the deceased explained that she is running short of a ’coffin’ that is amounting to R15 000.We further went on to explain to the mother that Cosas can only offer help through its own service provider, not external service providers. Hence therefore we further withdrew the support as the organisation,” the statement said.
Cosas further threatened Phike with legal action.
“Cosas is an organisation that is operated by a book of principles and not a burial society. Let us not be pushed to a corner where we stop assisting people that are in high need,” it said.