Elkiam Khumalo (1940 – 27 August 1996) was a South African

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who played for Moroka Swallows and Kaizer Chiefs. He was shot during a hijacking in 1996. He is the father of

Doctor Khumalo Theophilus "Doctor" Doctorson Khumalo (born 26 June 1967), also known as Doctor Khumalo, is a South African former soccer player. He is best known for being a star midfielder for Kaizer Chiefs as well as the South African national team. Care ...

Club career

Khumalo played for Moroka Swallows in the First Division where he helped win their only SA Soccer Championship in 1965 and later Kaizer Chiefs in NPSL being one of its first recruits in 1971 and also finishing as a runner up in that season.

Nickname

He was nicknamed "Pro" or "Professor" for his ability to read, dictate play, his skill and intelligence.

International career

Khumalo also represented

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

at the 1963 and 1973 Africa Games.

Coaching career

Khumalo coached Chiefs six times and led them to 3 NPSL titles, 3 BP Top 8 titles, 2

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

titles and 2 Sales House Cup titles. He also coached Kaizer Chiefs development sides where his son,

excelled and rose to be one of South Africa's best midfielders. He also discovered 19-year-old Thabang Lebese in 1992.

Death

A few months after his son won the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

, Khumalo died on 27 August 1996 in hospital when he was shot during a hijacking outside his home in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. He was shot in the back and his

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

was stolen.

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

sent a letter of condolence to Khumalo's wife reading, "':I learnt with shock of the fatal attack on your husband yesterday. Eliakim was an example and role model to all the young people of this country more especially those associated with football. His death is a tragic loss to us all. The police will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators of this deed are brought to book. To you and your family, I convey my sincere condolences in this hour of grief and sorrow''. In 1997 his hijackers, Lawrence Mazimba and Samson Masithulele were caught.

References