Durban — KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca has revealed that a proposal before the council to rename the Lindelani Soccer Field after two late local soccer stars is at an advanced stage.
This comes after the mayor visited the Cele and Kuhuni families to give solace and update them on the renaming process as they held the third Njabulo-France Tournament since 2020 in Lindelani Stadium on Sunday in honour of them.
Njabulo Cele, 24, a coach, and France Kuhuni, 16, a player reportedly died on August 10, 2020, during a soccer tournament organised to commemorate Women’s Day in Lindelani.
The mayor proposed that the soccer field be renamed Njabulo-France Sporting Stadium.
“I will continue to lobby the council in accordance with the policy on ‘Street and Building Naming’ to consider and accept the name, in my view a fitting reminder of the tragic event involving two innocent lives,’’ said Nhaca.
She said while this would not bring back the lives of the loved ones, they believed such a ruling would provide the affected families and community of Lindelani some sense of closure.
The mayor said she was also considering officially hosting an annual soccer tournament in honour of France and Njabulo.
She added that they were still keen to find answers to the cause of the duo’s deaths and said those responsible deserved harsh punishment.
“We maintain that these two innocent soccer activists were killed by shameless criminals who deserve nothing but harsh prison sentences.’’
Njabulo’s father said they felt honoured that his son’s legacy would live on: “We appreciated the mayor’s visit.”
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Daily News