Pumzile Sokanyile (48) was from Mdumazulu Location, Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape. He started working for Lonmin in 2001.
On 13 August 2012 Mr Sokanyile was killed after being shot in the head by the police.
He left behind his wife and 5 children. He was also financially supporting his two brothers, his sister and his nephew. On hearing the news of his death, Mr Sokanyile’s mother collapsed and died on her way to hospital.
According to his sister, Songstress Notukile Nkonyeni, "No one can really know what we feeling. I cannot begin to describe the pain I feel inside. We lost our brother and mother at the same time. We buried out brother and mother on the same day. The ritual has to be done on 1 December 2012."