Sizwe Sithole

Sizwe Sithole
Born
Clayton Sizwe Sithole[1]

c.1969
DiedJanuary 29, 1990[1]
John Vorster Square, Johannesburg, South Africa
Cause of deathAlleged suicide in jail
OccupationMember of Mandela United Football Club

Clayton Sizwe Sithole (1969 - 29 January 1990[1]) was a South African anti-apartheid political activist and member of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC), a controversial militant vigilante unit closely associated with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Jerry Richardson in the late 1980s in Soweto. Sithole was implicated in the killing of a fellow MUFC member and mysteriously died in police custody following a judicial inquiry into his actions.[2][1]

Police said they found him hanging by a belt and shoelaces fastened to a shower water pipe.[3]

Alleged crime and death

In October 1988, Sithole was accused of being involved in the murder of fellow MUFC member, Kenneth "Thole" Dlamini, who was killed after testifying against another member in court. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) determined that Sithole had executed Dlamini, who was labeled an informer.[2]

According to some accounts, Sithole had a romantic relationship with Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Madikizela-Mandela.[4]

He died by alleged suicide on 3 February 1990 while being held at John Vorster Square police station. The circumstances of his death remained murky, with suggestions that interrogators sought to suppress further disclosures by killing him.[2]

Sithole’s death came amid a broader investigation into MUFC's violent acts, including the 1988 abduction and killing of Stompie Seipei. Testimonies later implicated Madikizela-Mandela and MUFC members in numerous killings, abductions and torture of suspected informers.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Inquiry ordered into man with ties to Winnie Mandela, Washington Post, 1 February 1990. Retrieved 22 July 2025
  2. ^ a b c South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, Death of Sizwe Sithole.
  3. ^ Clayton Sithole last political activist to die in apartheid govt detention, sahistory.org.za, retrieved 22 July 2025
  4. ^ Smith, Stephen W. Mother and Tata. London Review of Books, Vol.46, No.6, 21 March 2024.
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