Former Athletics South Africa (ASA) chief executive Banele Sindani was shot dead in a robbery at his Ruimsig home in west Johannesburg early on Tuesday morning.
Nephew Phelelani Sindani said he was shot once in the abdomen by three robbers who broke into his house around 2am.
Sindani‚ also the first CEO of the then newly created SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) in 2005‚ had previously made his name in sports administration at the helm of ASA‚ alongside then president Leonard Chuene.
Sindani was fired from Sascoc in 2006‚ and returned to ASA as a consultant.
He was also involved in the Soweto Marathon Trust and was said to have been in the running for his old ASA post‚ which has been vacant since 2012.
Phelelani said Sindani’s 12-year-old daughter‚ who was watching TV at the time‚ woke her father up when she noticed the robbers trying to gain access.
The unarmed Sindani was shot when he confronted them.
“He [Banele] didn’t even own a firearm‚” said Phelelani.
The robbers forced the daughter to open the kitchen door and they left with the plasma TV and a cellphone.