Mayor of Johannesburg Killed in Car Accident - Reports
23:25 GMT 18.09.2021 (Updated: 12:53 GMT 10.11.2022)
© Photo : Twitter/ Jolidee Matongo
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Jolidee Matongo, the newly-elected Mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city, has died in a car accident , The South African reports.
According to media, Matongo, 46, died in Soweto on Saturday, hours after participating in an ANC campaign event, alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
"I am shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Johannesburg Mayor, Jolidee Matongo. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues in the ANC [African National Congress party]. Politics must always come last in these moments. He was taken far too soon," former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba said on Twitter.
Ramaphosa commented on the sad news on his Twitter page, sharing a picture of him and Matongo apparently taken recently.
It is hard to comprehend this tragedy, given the vitality and passion with which Mayor Matongo interacted with me and residents of Soweto so shortly before his death. pic.twitter.com/zmzGVFfAdA
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #RegisterToVoteANC (@CyrilRamaphosa) September 18, 2021
The president praised Matongo's efforts during the African National Congress (ANC) party's campaign event, saying that the mayor wanted to mobilize people to make their voices heard in the upcoming local government elections, scheduled for November.
"I am shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Johannesburg Mayor, Jolidee Matongo. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues in the ANC. Politics must always come last in these moments. He was taken far too soon," former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba said on Twitter commenting on the tragic accident.
Matongo was appointed mayor on August 10, succeeding Geoff Makhubo, who died in July of Covid-19 complications.
