Dr. Thandeka Mazibuko is the first African doctor to opens the first rural cancer center in Africa

1. THE WITNESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012 3
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SIYATHEMBA BEN
WHEN Dr Thandeka Mazibuko looks back
on her life, she gets scared. She likens the
memory to “walking out of a burning house
and being the only survivor”.
Growing up poor, raised solely by her
mother and being forced to quit matric and
get married at the age of 17 are just some
of the challenges Mazibuko had to endure.
Butthesehavemadeherstrongerandmore
determined to make a difference and give
back to her community of kwaNyuswa Vil-
lage, Hillcrest.
Mazibuko works at Grey’s Hospital’s on-
cology department.
She said her passion for the community
came from understanding the poverty she
had come from.
Being raised by a domestic worker, life
was not easy. Sometimes she and her
younger sister would have to eat stale
bread which they got from neighbours.
Despite the hardships, she found
strength in prayer and believing in herself.
Her life took a different turn after her
school burnt to the ground when she was
in Grade 10 and went to live with relatives
in Chesterville so she could continue her
schooling.
But things didn’t go quite as planned.
When she was in matric, at just 17, she was
forced to get married.
She went back to school, but had to lie
to her family who didn’t want her to study.
“They thought I was going to do my driv-
er’s licence,” she said.
After passing matric, Mazibuko left
home to study her BSc at the University of
the North (University of Limpopo) before
enrolling at UKZN’s Nelson R. Mandela
School of Medicine, where she completed
her studies through loans.
Her divorce was finalised while she was
still at university and in her fifth year she
founded Sinomusanothando, a non-profit
organisation that aims to help individuals
and communities realise their potential
and enhance their ability to improve their
health and quality of life.
Recently she opened up a cancer screen-
ing centre in her village, the first of its kind
in KwaZulu-Natal. She has partnered with
traditional healers in the venture.
“Patients in the rural areas face a lot of
challenges.Theyarefarfromhospitalsand
they have no education [about cancer].
“I’m a doctor who is a product of this ar-
ea. I come to the community and don’t wait
for the community to come to me,” said
Mazibuko.
This year she was named the regional
business achiever “social entrepreneur” at
the Business Women’s Association of South
Africa awards event in Durban.
• Siyathemba.Ben@media24.com
LUNGA BIYELA
WITNESS contractor Segaran Naidoo
(49), who was shot in the head during a
robbery in the CBD last week, died on Sat-
urday evening.
Marlon Naidoo (30) said his father’s
death was a very hard pill to swallow.
“They took a father away from his fami-
ly thinking nothing of it. All they took from
him was a bag that had cents in it,” he said
of the men who shot his father on the cor-
ner of Hoosen Haffajee and Boshoff
Streets on Thursday.
A tearful Marlon said his father had al-
ways gone the extra mile, not only for his
family, but for his employees and stran-
gers as well.
“My dad lived his life for his wife and
his kids,” he told The Witness.
“From Monday to Friday, he would al-
ways cook for my mom. He was always
workinghardandweneverwentonafam-
ily holiday up until a month ago when we
allwenttotheBergformymom’sbirthday.
“That was a really special time togeth-
er.”
Marlon described his father as a man
with a good heart who was loved by all
who knew him.
“He would pick up people in the middle
ofthenightandgivethemfoodandaplace
tosleep;that’sthekindofmanthathewas.
I got a call from a lady who used to work
for him yesterday.
“She was crying and telling me that he
was a father figure to her.”
Since the shooting on Thursday, his
family had never left his bedside at Medi-
clinic.
“We were all there by his side until the
end,” he said.
“We’ve received a lot of support from
friends and family, and some people who
came to see him in hospital who were not
“It’s sad to see him go, especially at this
time of the year,” he said.
Naidoo’s funeral will be held tomorrow
at the Aryan Hall in Raisethorpe.
He is survived by his wife Sandra, who
previously worked at The Witness, Mar-
lon, and a daughter, Marlini (26).
POLICE in Ladysmith
are looking for Mesuli
Mavimbela, who has
been missing for a
week.
Mavimbela, a police
officer from kwaMashu
was last known to be
driving a silver Toyota
Verso (ND 449 265)
from Burford to Uitval
in Ladysmith, said police spokesperson Captain
Thulani Zwane.
“He is tall, slim and clean­shaven. He was last
seen wearing a faded pair of jeans and a Kaizer
Chiefs replica T­shirt,” said Zwane.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of
Mavimbela is asked to call Detective Warrant Offic­
er Yssel at 036 638 3327 or Ladysmith police sta­
tion at 036 638 3312. Anonymous callers can
phone Crime Stop at 086 001 0111. — WR.
LUNGA BIYELA
A HORRIFIC car crash on Bombay Road in North-
dale yesterday evening left two people dead and an-
other two fighting for their lives.
Nazeem Pillay, who was one of the first people
on the scene, said he was walking along the road
when he saw a grey Opel Astra attempt to overtake
a red Ford Escort.
“There was another car coming head on and the
guy in the Astra tried to get back into the lane. He
swerved back and hit the red car,” said Pillay.
“I managed to pull out one boy from the red car,
but I was unable to save the man and the woman
in the front.”
The boy, he said, looked about “16 or 17”.
Other people on the scene said there had been
twoteenageboysinthebackoftheredcar,butPillay
told The Witness he saw only one.
In the other car, he couldn’t do anything for the
passenger, who was trapped under the dashboard.
The driver was nowhere to be seen.
People from the neighbourhood looked on in
shock as the injured were being taken away by am-
bulance. The road was closed off as police, fire de-
partment officers and paramedics attended to the
scene.
By the time The Witness left the scene last night,
the deceased were still trapped in the car and cov-
ered in foil blankets.
Another six people were killed in two separate
accidents that happened on the province’s roads at
the weekend. Five of them were believed to be holi-
daymakers from Gauteng.
THAMSANQA MAGUBANE
SPRING Grove Dam in Rosetta
near Mooi River is almost com-
plete, with the most critical part,
the wall, 80% built.
The dam wall is 37 metres high
and 607 metres wide. The dam
hasacapacityofabout140million
cubic metres.
It is expected to provide water
to at least two million residents in
theMooiRiverdistrict,otherparts
of uMgungundlovu district and
the Durban metro.
Spring Grove Dam was
launched by Water Affairs Minis-
ter Edna Molewa last year as an
initiative to secure water for com-
munities that had previously been
affected by water shortages.
TheWitnessvisitedthedamlast
week to see what progress has
been made. The wall is expected
to be completed in the first part
of next year.
Kogi Govender, of the Trans-
Caledon Tunnel Authority, the im-
plementing agents of the project,
said they had encountered many
challenges during construction.
“We had to deal with the issue
of expropriating the land and we
had to compensate all the land
owners; we had to pay fair market
value for their land,” said Goven-
der.
“There are also many people
[mostly farm dwellers] who were
being affected.
“Wehavefoundareaswherewe
are building them houses. The
houses are standard RDP houses,
but in cases where there are large
families, more rooms are built to
accommodate them.
“We are also in the process of
relocating some of the graves in
the area.
“It has been established that
there are about 140 graves that
will need to be relocated and
many of the families had request-
ed that their families be reburied
at a cemetery in Mooi River, and
there was a shortage if burial
space.”
Govender said people who lost
their jobs and income because
some farms ceased operations
were compensated.
“Some of the people had been
laid off and they had to be com-
pensatedforthataswelluntilthey
could find another job.”
Shami Harichunder of Umgeni
Water said: “The dam will be
managed by Umgeni on behalf of
Water Affairs and it is expected it
will begin operating next year.”
• thamsanqam@witness.co.za
ATTEMPTS by two drug dealers
and a middleman to corrupt a po-
lice officer have landed them in hot
water.
On Friday last week, detectives
of the Durban Organised Crime
Unit and members of the Durban
Flying Squad narcotics task team
arrested two drug dealers and a
middlemanwhotriedtobribeapo-
lice officer to leak information
about drug raids.
The three suspects, aged 22, 24
and 38, are expected to appear in
court soon.
Colonel Jay Naicker said there
were ongoing efforts by the Flying
Squad narcotics task team to curb
drug dealing in the Chatsworth ar-
ea.Drugsyndicateshadbeenmak-
ing substantial financial losses and
had made a desperate attempt to
suborn a police officer.
“The two drug dealers are al-
leged to have used the intermedi-
ary to approach a member of the
flying squad and negotiate that the
police officer supply them with in-
formation of future drug opera-
tions in exchange for cash.”
The police officer reported the
matter to his superior who in turn
contactedtheorganisedcrimeunit.
Naicker said: “An organised
crime project was registered and
a five-month long investigation be-
gan. Various payments were made
to the police officer and detailed
records were kept of the corrupt
dealings.”
The drug dealers handed over
R59 000incashtothepoliceofficer.
During the raid police also seized
an unlicensed 9mm pistol, R13 000
in cash and items of jewellery from
the homes of the suspects.
Naicker warned that such oper-
ations would continue in order to
disrupt the activities of drug deal-
ers, especially over the festive sea-
son. — Witness Reporter.
POLICE in Amanzimtoti
are looking for Mfundo
Ntando Ngcobo, aged
five, from Ezimangweni
ReserveinkwaMakhutha,
who was last seen on
Tuesday last week.
Police spokesperson
Captain Thulani Zwane
said Mfundo was last
seenbyhisauntataround
8 am playing in the yard.
“He was last seen wearing black pants and a blue
T­shirt with black marks on the front.”
Zwane urged anyone with information about the boy
to call Warrant Officer Jwara at 031 913 1308 or Crime
Stop at 086 001 0111. — Witness Reporter.
JOHANNESBURG — A
young woman bitten by a
snake, believed to be a
puff adder, while walking
along a nature trail at
Shongweni, outside Dur­
ban, yesterday was in a
stable condition, para­
medics said.
ER24 spokesperson
Derrick Banks said para­
medicstreatedherbefore
she was taken to Hillcrest
private hospital where
she was reported to be
“absolutely fine”.
Banks said she had
been walking with friends
in the Giba Gorge area
when the serpent struck
her through her shoe.
— Sapa.
Spring
Grove
Dam nears
completion
Drug trio
trapped in
bribe sting
Two killed in late
night PMB crash
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Mesuli Mavimbela.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Mfundo Ntando
Ngcobo.
LADYSMITH: POLICEMAN
MISSING FOR A WEEK
SHONGWENI: WOMANHIKER
‘FINE’ AFTER SNAKE BITE
AMANZIMTOTI: POLICE
SEARCH FOR MISSING BOY
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Segaran Naidoo.
even family. You could see that
he touched a lot of lives.
“Although I am sad that he
has died, a part of me is also
happy that he can now rest, be-
cause he has worked hard all of
his life,” he added.
Witness circulation manager
Clive Reddy said Naidoo was a
hard-working and dedicated
contractorwhoalwayswentthe
extra mile.
“He had a lot of respect from
his colleagues. He was a well-
liked guy and he will be sorely
missed. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to the family at
this time of grief.
“As a contractor, Naidoo con-
trolled street sales, and had ap-
proximately 60 people in his
employ.
“He created a lot of employ-
ment for a lot of people,” said
Reddy.
Naidoo had been part of The
Witnessfamilyformorethan30
years.
Colleague Pat Pillay said
Naidoo was a very hard-work-
ing and helpful person.
‘
Marlon Naidoo, speaking about
‘Witness’ contractor Segaran Naidoo
(49), who died yesterday.
THEY TOOK A FATHER AWAY FROM
HIS FAMILY THINKING NOTHING OF IT.
ALL THEY TOOK FROM HIM WAS A BAG
THAT HAD CENTS IN IT … ALTHOUGH
I AM SAD THAT HE HAS DIED, A PART
OF ME IS ALSO HAPPY THAT HE CAN
NOW REST, BECAUSE HE HAS WORKED
HARD ALL OF HIS LIFE.
‘Witness’ contractor fondly remembered as a loving father
PHOTOS: JONATHAN BURTON
Dr Thandeka Mazibuko, who works at Grey’s Hospital, is passionate about
creating cancer awareness in rural communities.
Traditional healer Khanyisile Mkhize (left), Dr Thandeka Mazibuko (centre) and
Nokusho Bhengu, a cancer patient.
CANCER: Doctor opens KZN’s
first village screening centre
Passionate
about
patients
‘
Dr Thandeka Mazibuko,
Grey’s Hospital’s oncology
department
‘PATIENTS IN THE RURAL
AREAS FACE A LOT OF
CHALLENGES. THEY ARE FAR
FROM HOSPITALS … I COME
TO THE COMMUNITY AND
DON’T WAIT FOR THE
COMMUNITY TO COME TO ME.’