Mrs Lindsay Myeni;

 

Family and friends of Lindani Myeni;

 

Fellow Mourners;

We are in eSikhaleni today to mourn and to commemorate the life of Lindani Sanele Myeni whose life was brutally snatched away from us in Hawaii, on 14 April 2021.

 

While in pain on such a sombre day, we must also surmount the strength to celebrate the life of Lindani Myeni: an adoring husband to his wife Lindsay; a doting father to his son

Nsizwa and daughter Nandi; a loving son and brother to his parents and sister.

 

At 29, Lindani had a lot to offer to his country and the world, had he not been untimely killed at the prime of his life.

 

Those who took Lindani’s life want us to believe that he was a criminal and a violent man, but those who knew him intimately tell tales of a soft-spoken, gentle giant who was always considerate and compassionate.

 

The gentle giant who did not hurt anyone had his life cruelly taken away from him as if it was that of a hunted animal.

 

It is unbelievable that this gentle giant, who strode the rugby fields and the valleys of eSikhaleni like a colossus, has ceased to walk.

 

It is difficult to come to terms that the man whose sweet voice mesmerised the hard-to-please Idols judges, has ceased to sing.

 

Lindani used his voice as a war cry to inspire confidence and to encourage his rugby teammates. He also used it to instil fear to opposing teams.

 

His voice, which has been eternally silenced, still echoes across the globe as his killing has united people of different colours, creeds and cultures.

 

Lindani’s untimely demise at the hands of policemen who were supposed to protect him, touched the hearts and souls of many generous people across the world who joined our government in raising funds to cover his transportation back home, funeral costs and legal fees involved in the family's plight to uncover the circumstances surrounding his death.

 

We are eternally gratefully to these considerate souls who opened their hearts and pockets to help the family and the provincial government in the repatriation of Lindani’s body from Hawaii to South Africa.

 

We are thankful to Lindani’s Hawaiian friend, Bello Silitshena, who was instrumental in the fundraising process. Asked to share his memories about Lindani, Bello narrated this touching story:

 

“Lindani was a pure soul. In addition to all his talents, he had a big heart. He was very selfless. A story that stands out to me is how we were both waiting on US immigration for our paperwork.

“I was waiting on my citizenship while he was waiting on his work permit. We were both frustrated with waiting but when I got my citizenship, he was the first person to congratulate me, wholeheartedly.

 

“Even though he hadn't gotten his paperwork yet, he made it a point to drive out to the suburbs that very day so we could celebrate. We hugged, he sang beautifully and we celebrated.

 

“He celebrated my success in the face of his waiting. He spent the night at my house. He just had a great way to make you feel good. And he was like that with everyone. His family. His friends.

 

I'm honoured to have known him.”

 

From this narration, it is evident that Lindani’s selfless nature touched people from home and as far afield as Hawaii. They all sing with one voice to bemoan and mourn the cruel killing of the African son.

 

To keep Lindani’s memory and legacy alive, let us all unite and denounce the hostile manner of his killing.

 

Let us condemn his killing while demanding swift justice to prevail and take its course.

 

Writing about Lindani Myeni in the Sunday Independent on 25 April 2021, Abbey Makoe draws from a current Statista Research Department to reveal the widespread tendency of murdering black people by racist police in the US. The reports states that:

 

“The trend of fatal police shootings in the US seems to only be increasing, with a total 213 civilians having been shot, 30 of whom were black, in the first three months of 2021. In 2020 there were 1021 fatal police shootings, and in 2019 there were 999 fatal shootings. Additionally, the rate of fatal police shootings among black Americans was much higher than that for any other ethnicity, standing at 35 fatal shootings per million of the population as of March 2021.”

 

According to a CBC News, in the first eight months of 2020, 164 black people were killed by US police. There is absolutely no need for these senseless, cold-blooded murder of black people by US police. The reasons for this police criminality against black civilians indicate that black people’s lives are not valued, that they are stereotyped as inherently criminal and dangerous.

 

Some of the names that caught the eye of the public in recent years include George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scot, Alton Sterling, Stephon Clarke, and Rodney King. What is even more tragic is that these deaths of black people at the hands of white police go largely unpunished. Derek Chauvin who was recently convicted for the murder of George Floyd is the only police officer known in living memory to have been convicted of this crime.

 

We add our voice in insisting that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 should see the light of the day in the US Senate to reform policing in that country and prevent killers hiding behind a police badge get away with murder of black people. Yes, black lives matter. Yes, Lindani Myeni is one of our own and his life matters dearly to his family and to us as his nation.

 

We wish Mrs Lindsay Myeni and the family every ounce of strength as they continue to pursue justice in the US courts for the murder of Lindani. We know it will not be an easy journey. It is also for this reason that we wish to add our voice that we are absolutely disgusted by the callousness and insensitivity of supremacist Derek Chauvin who on Tuesday, through his attorney, filed for a new trial in the murder of George Floyd.

 

Fellow mourners, let us use our voices to call for justice so that Lindani’s death is not in vain. As a true ambassador of peace and unity, Lindani united the world even in death.

 

Those who grew up with Lindani in eSikhaleni regale us with stories of a jocular young man whose infectious laughter echoed in the fertile fields of his home village.

 

People who knew Lindani better, speak of a young man who despised violence against women and children.

 

Those who were familiar with him, attest to the way he protected his sister from violent men.

 

We need more young men like Lindani, who protect and shield women and children from those who threaten them or are brutal to them.

 

Lindani would have been an asset to our country and province as we face the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, which is described as a second pandemic after Covid-19.

 

To his beloved wife Lindsay, Lindani was the adoring “Prince of uBombo” who was passionate about his roots and his culture. It was such passion that encouraged him to research his roots and finally discover that he was of the royal blood line.

 

We applaud Lindani’s unquenchable quest for his roots and culture and urge our youth to follow in his footsteps in knowing about their history, traditions and culture.

 

A young African man who does not know his roots is like a boat stuck in the middle of a deep ocean, lost for direction. Knowing your roots ensures stability, focus, and purpose.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, those who killed Lindani want us to believe that he was a violent man. But those who were near and dear to Lindani tell us a different story. They tell of a young man who hated violence and was passionate about peace and progress.

 

It is very depressing that a man who hated violence finally succumbed to it.

 

Lindani went to Hawaii armed with his South African hospitality which was met with Honolulu police hostility. His untimely demise has left the province poorer and dealt a destructive blow to the South African community.

 

We are comforted and heartened that the people of eSikhaleni have fond memories of the son who hails from their community. They fondly speak of a sports ambassador who put the name of eSikhaleni on the world map.

 

Their faces light up with happiness when they recall that during his visits home from Hawaii, Lindani would gather together the local youth and coach them on how to play rugby.

 

By exposing the local youth to sports, Lindani was indirectly taking them away from the influence of drugs and other illegal substances which find fertile ground in inactive youth.

 

By following in Lindani’s sporting footsteps, the local youth can learn that sports can be used as a tool for one’s wellbeing and for advance economically in life. Through sports, our youth can overcome obstacles that block their way to progress and prosperity.

 

Lindani had become part of a long list of people who excelled in life through dedication and exceptional talent in sports.

 

He may be gone, but his compassionate deeds will stay with the community for a long time to come.

 

It is painful that the good always die young, even the Word of God attests to this in Isaiah 57 verse 1 which reads as follows:

 

“Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.”

 

From the testimonies we have heard, it is evident that Lindani was a flower whom God wanted to use as a decoration in his abode.

 

We know that as an engineering professional, Lindani’s services would have come in handy to our country and the province.

 

We are hopeful that Lindani will become a seed from which will grow many engineering graduates from his community who will help to keep his legacy and memory alive.

 

To Lindani’s family we say let them be comforted that his untimely demise has sent shockwaves around the globe and alerted the world to the atrocities that still face black people in the United States.

 

When he breathed his last and closed his eyes eternally, he opened the eyes of the world which stood as one in condemning his brutal killing.

 

As we lay him to rest on Saturday, we promise that we will not rest on our laurels until justice finally prevails.

 

We pin our hopes on US President, Joe Biden, that his intervention might help the wheels of justice to turn with speed. We also pray for former US president Barack Obama’s mediation, who hails from Hawaii, in bringing the killers of Lindani to book.

 

To Mrs Lindsay Myeni and the children, lalani ngenxeba, duduzekani. Please know that KwaZulu-Natal will always be home to you and the citizens of America.

 

Hamba kahle Lindani, siyabonga ukuthi ekugcineni usulele nabakini emhlabeni wokhokho bakho obungawukhohliwe.

 

Hamba kahle:

 

Mdolomba

 

Mzukase,

 

Mnguni wasenhla

 

Wena waseNingizimu

 

Gwebeshomnyama ,ophuza amanzi okuhlalelwa!

Ngiyabonga!