Gauteng member of the provincial legislature (MPL) and prominent ANC member Mapiti Matsena was stabbed to death in his home in Doornpoort, Pretoria, according to the provincial legislature.
Police confirmed on Thursday that Matsena was with his family at their house at Holy Hock Street in Doornpoort when he was attacked and fatally stabbed in the chest on Wednesday evening.
According to initial reports, members of Sinolville SAPS responded to a call, Holy Hock street Doornport on Wednesday 15 July at about 22:52.
The police found the deceased on the floor in the main bedroom.
Paramedics were summoned and declared him dead after attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The police said Matsena went to the toilet when the suspect gained entry through the unlocked outside glass door.
“The suspect allegedly covered the deceased’s wife with a blanket. The wife ran out and called her son, Mokwele Matsena, from the other house on the premises who witnessed the fight and saw the suspect stab his father with an unknown object in the chest. The suspect jumped the wall in front of the house on the South Western side.”
Matsena was the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and a member of the Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure Development and Property Management.
“His passing marks a great loss to the Province, and we appeal to law enforcement authorities to work with the greatest urgency to bring the murderers to book. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to his family and thank them for sharing him with us, his friends, political party the ANC and the entire community of Gauteng – which he represented in the Legislature and served with distinction,” reads the statement from the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Speaker Ntombi Mekgwe.
Matsena joined the GPL as a member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) following the 2019 National and Provincial Elections and was immediately appointed as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Community Safety. He also served as a Member of the Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure Development and Property Management.
“Understanding his role as a Public Representative, Hon, Matsena ensured full accountability by the Gauteng Department of Community Safety and the Provincial Police on matters of community safety – particularly women and children. His firm stance against Gender Based Violence gained him popularity amongst his peers as he never missed an opportunity to campaign and advocate for the strengthening of the fight against GBV every time he addressed a House Sitting,” said Mekgwe.
(Compiled by Inside Metros staff)