ALI MPHAKI
DESCRIBED as a man of God, Johannes Mandlakhe Mdlalose, 86, kept his faith to the end.
Nothing it seems could come between Mdlalose and his God. He had based his life on Psalm 119 verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Once, when police went looking for one of his sons who had allegedly committed a crime and was hiding in their White City home, Mdlalose did not hesitate to point him out, and the son was arrested.
Mdlalose could have easily assumed the role of a priest within the Sobantu Community Church in Africa, of which he had been a member since early childhood.
He was born in Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal in 1925. In 1943 he married Catherine and they were blessed with six children.
Mdlalose is survived by 28 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren. His funeral service will be held tomorrow at the Evangelical Church in White City Jabavu at 8am. The cortege will proceed to Avalon Cemetery at 11.30am.