Address by the Executive Mayor of Tsantsabane Local Municipality

Address by the Executive Mayor of Tsantsabane Local Municipality

On the Tragic Passing of Thumi Wentzel Williams

11 April 2026

Programme Director,

Councillors,

Members of SAPS and Government Departments,

Community of Tsantsabane,

And especially, the Williams family and Gogo Ma Williams,

We gather today with broken hearts. We are here because a 17-year-old child of Tsantsabane, Thumi Wentzel Williams, should be standing with us. He should be in school, on the sports field, at home with his mother and with Gogo Ma Williams. Instead, his young life was taken from us in a brutal and senseless act.

As your Mayor, and as a parent, I am heartbroken and I am angry. No family should bury a child.

To the youth of Tsantsabane, I speak to you directly.

Learn from Thumi’s death. Let it not be in vain.

Choose life. Walk away from fights. Walk away from gangs. Walk away from drugs and alcohol that destroy judgment. One bad decision can end a life forever.

Value each other. Your friend, your classmate, the person next to you: that is someone’s Thumi. Protect each other. Speak up when you see danger. Do not be a bystander.

Use your voice. If you know something, say something. Report crime. Report weapons at school. Report abuse. Your silence protects killers. Your voice protects the next Thumi.

Build, do not destroy. Thumi’s life was cut short. Honour him by finishing school, learning a skill, and building your future. Anger and revenge will only create more grieving mothers and grandmothers.

To those involved in violence: Stop. Our SAPS and law enforcement will act, and they will act firmly. Tsantsabane will not be ruled by fear.

To the parents, guardians, and every resident of Tsantsabane:

Gogo Ma Williams, Thumi’s mother, and the Williams, Makape, koopman family carry a pain we cannot fully understand. But we must not let them carry it alone.

Hold your children close. Talk to them. Know where they are. Know who their friends are. A strong home is the first defense against violence.

Stand with the Williams, Makape and Koopman family. Attend the memorial. Send a message. Cook a meal. Sit with them. Show this family that Thumi was loved by more than just his blood relatives. He was loved by Tsantsabane.

Be the community Thumi deserved. Look out for every child like they are your own. If you see a child in trouble, step in. If you know of danger, report it to SAPS.

Support each other. Trauma counselling is available through the Municipality and the Department of Social Development. Please make use of it. Healing takes all of us.

In closing:

We cannot bring Thumi back. But we can decide what happens next.

Young people, you are our hope. You are stronger than the violence around you. You can choose peace. You can choose growth. You can be the generation that says “never again.”

Community of Tsantsabane, when we stand together, violence does not win. Hope does. Unity does.

Let Thumi’s name remind us that every young life matters. Let his memory push us to build a Tsantsabane where our children grow old. Thumi’s story ends here, but our story is still being written. Let us write it with courage, with love, and with life.

May Thumi Wentzel Williams rest in peace. May his family find strength. And may we, as a community, rise.

I thank you.

Cllr Helena English

Executive Mayor

Tsantsabane Local Municipality