Thato Molosankwe was reportedly shot and killed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 19 May, at the family business premises in Lomanyaneng village outside Mahikeng. His life was celebrated and honoured by friends, family, government officials, and members of the public at a memorial service in his village on Wednesday (27/5).

North West MEC for community safety and transport management, Wessels Morweng, described Molosankwe as a man who consistently stood for truth and justice. He said the deceased was unafraid to praise the government when it performed well and equally vocal when it failed communities.

“Delegated by the Premier on behalf of the exco to come and send condolences to the Molosankwe family. Thato was a very important figure to us as the exco of the province. I describe the relationship that we had with Thato as a complementary, contradictory approach.”

Molosankwe played a critical oversight role by holding government accountable while also acknowledging progress when service delivery improved, Morweng said.

“Thato would compliment us when we do right, he would contradict us outrightly when we do wrong. The classic example I normally want to make to people is at department of Cosatma, the department I'm presiding over, we had an issue with buses.

“Thato was very critical of us, every day he was on our case that we need to provide buses to the people because the services we provide to people are not favorable, we need to provide service as dictated by (the) constitution,” he said.

Molosankwe was also among the first to commend the department publicly once solutions were implemented, added Morweng. The activist would immediately take to social media platforms to compliment the department whenever challenges affecting communities were resolved.

Police have intensified efforts to track down suspects linked to Molosankwe’s murder. Morweng warned that releasing sensitive information during the early stages of the investigation could jeopardise the case.

“Any excitement and divulgence of information will compromise the investigation. Thato’s killers are not somewhere on a planet called mercury or Venus.

“They are on the planet called Earth, even right now, they are watching this information. They are also monitoring our movements so that they can change if we are on their tail.”

 Morweng urged members of the public to remain patient and continue supporting the Molosankwe family as investigations continue.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

• Have a news tip to share? Phone or whatsapp the OFM News Hotline: 066 487 1427.