GAAHELE MOKGORO
THE FAMILY of Nhlanhla Caswell Langa are battling to come to terms with his untimely death.
Langa, who died at Helen Joseph Hospital on March 20 due to complications from meningitis, was born on August 6, 1962, in Senaoane.
The sixth-born child of Samuel and Ethel Khumalo, he leaves behind a sister and a brother. He had no children.
Langa’s younger sister, Lindiwe Khumalo, said she would dearly miss her brother as he was always someone she could rely on for good advice.
She said her brother had been a very popular man in the neighbourhood, and was a frequent visitor to local taverns, where he always enjoyed watching soccer games. She added that her brother was a very jolly person, and always fun to be around. “I will miss his company a lot. When he was younger, he enjoyed playing soccer and was an avid Kaizer Chiefs supporter.”
Zodwa Ngai, Langa’s partner for over 10 years, said she was devastated. “We met around the area we lived in, fell in love and ultimately moved in together.”
Ngai said Langa had started feeling ill after a trip to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. He was in and out of hospital, would come back feeling better, only to start feeling ill again. “He was a good man,” Ngai said, adding that his favourite meal, which she enjoyed preparing, was skop(sheep head) and phutu(soft porridge).
“Even though Nhlanhla didn’t go to church, I know God is taking care of him,” she said.
Langa will be buried tomorrow at Avalon Cemetery. The service will be held at 441 Msunduzi Street, Senaoane, at 7.30am. The cortege leaves for the cemetery at 9am.