What Mandla Hlatshwayo's Family Will Miss The Most About Him

"They robbed us of a gentle soul, brother and father".
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Scenes from outside Mandla Hlatshwayo's family home in Chiawelo, Soweto.
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"Sharp." This was the last word, Maggy Ntombela said to her slain brother, Mandla Hlatshwayo a week before his murder on Sunday night.

Ntombela spoke to HuffPost SA on Monday at their family home in Tshiawelo, Soweto.

She said she would remember her brother as a people's person who loved to make jokes.

"He enjoyed ukugwara abantu [making fun of people], and I will miss that about him. He was witty and loved being around family," Ntombela told HuffPost SA.

Ntombela, who is the only sister and the eldest of the four siblings, said her family was devastated by the news of her brother's murder.

As tributes continue to pour in for Hlatshwayo at the family's Soweto home, situated on a quiet street, mourners went in and out to offer condolences and hold prayer meetings.

His brother, Sipho, said his family was still trying to come to terms with the reality of their loss.

"We are trying. We're holding up," he said.

Uncle to the former Generations actor and Jozi FM DJ, Jabulani Hlatshwayo, said the family has been robbed.

"I don't understand what is going on in our family. In 1999 we lost my brother, Mandla's dad, in the same fashion. Now, 18 years later, we suffer the same fate. It is heartbreaking," he said.

He said he had one message for his nephew's killers: "Hand yourselves over to the police. What you did was heartless and you took away from a family, a brother, father and husband. You will pay for it," said Hlatshwayo.

Mandla is survived by his three siblings and five children of whom the youngest is seven months old.

The 40-year-old was killed outside a pub in Pimville, Soweto. eNCA reported on Monday that four people were arrested in connection with the murder and robbery.

His close friend, Charles Mohale, said Hlatshwayo went outside to help two women who cried for help when robbers attacked them.

"Mandla did not think twice. He went out to help the women. The next thing shots were fired and Mandla was down. Our other friend, whom he had gone outside with, was shot as he tried to return inside. He also died. Everything happened in a split second," said Mohale.

He said after killing Hlatshwayo, the suspects took his shoes and other belongings, "while he was lying there dying".