Mzwandile Lungile Bungane
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Magic”
2 September 1946 — 14 February 2026 · aged 79
Left winger of KwaZakhele, harbour shunter at Transnet, and coach to a thousand boys
Gqeberha, South Africa Born in Peddie, Eastern Cape Resting at Family homestead, Peddie, Eastern CapeAbout Mzwandile
Even in his seventies, Mzwandile Bungane could not walk past a ball without touching it. A boy would kick one towards him in a street in KwaZakhele, and Mzwandile, knees complaining, would flick it back with the outside of his left foot and a small smile.
Born in Peddie in 1946, the son of a farm labourer, he came to Port Elizabeth at sixteen and found work at the harbour, first as a labourer and then, from 1966, as a shunter with the South African Railways and Harbours. He would remain on the harbour for forty years as that employer became Transnet, working the rail yards alongside the cranes that loaded the Eastern Cape's citrus and wool.
On Saturday afternoons he was Magic, the left winger for the Red Lions of KwaZakhele, a man so quick over ten yards that opposing full-backs gave up and turned to watch. He once received a trial from a visiting Orlando Pirates side and, he joked, never forgave the selector who sent him home. He captained the Red Lions from 1970 to 1978, hung up his boots, and began to coach the boys of the township.
For four decades he ran Saturday morning training on a patch of gravel behind the Methodist church, with kit he bought himself, and sent several boys to professional clubs, including one who played for Chippa United. He married Nomvuyo Tyali in 1974. He loved umngqusho with a little sour milk, Methodist hymns in isiXhosa, and the sound of a ball against a wall.
Magic died in February 2026, after a short illness. He leaves his wife, three children and ten grandchildren, and a township full of men who learned to pass.
“Pass before you are asked. The team will always find a way to thank you.”
- Faith
- Christian
- Place of birth
- Peddie, Eastern Cape
- Resting place
- Family homestead, Peddie, Eastern Cape
- Passed away
- 14 February 2026, Gqeberha
Funeral Service
Monday, 23 February 2026 at 11:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Magic Bungane Youth Football Fund
Keep Saturday morning coaching alive: boots, balls and school fees for the boys of KwaZakhele.
$2,389.25 raised of $2,500
96%13 recent contributions
- HM
Haji Mushtaq gave $475 · 5mo ago
“With love, always.”
- HM
Haji Mushtaq gave $190 · 5mo ago
“For the children's school fees.”
- JL
Jericho Lim gave $19 · 5mo ago
“In honour of a great man.”
- AN
Anonymous gave $95 · 5mo ago
- MG
Mama Nokuzola Gqamane gave $475 · 5mo ago
“From your old classmates.”
Life journey
Primary schooling
Peddie Higher Primary School1953 – 1960 · Peddie
Captained the school football side.
Shunter to Shunting Supervisor
South African Railways and Harbours, later Transnet1966 – 2006 · Port Elizabeth Harbour
Forty years in the harbour rail yards.
Left winger and captain
Red Lions FC1964 – 1978 · KwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth
Captained the side from 1970.
Married Nomvuyo Tyali
1974 · Port Elizabeth
A marriage of fifty-two years.
Youth football coach
KwaZakhele Junior League1980 – 2025 · Gqeberha
Coached more than a thousand boys on Saturday mornings.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Mzwandile is survived by
- Nomvuyo Bungane· Spouse
- Luyanda Bungane· Son
- Ayanda Bungane· Son
- Zintle Bungane-Mqina· Daughter
- 10 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Mzwandile.
Knew Mzwandile? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- MZ
Friend, Johannesburg
I met him in 1988 at a funeral where both of us were the first to arrive and the last to leave. We argued about Pirates and Chiefs for thirty-five years and agreed about everything else. Hamba kakuhle, Magic.
- ZB
Daughter
Papa taught me to kick a ball with both feet, and my brothers never forgave him for it. I now coach under-ten girls in Mthatha. I wear his old whistle. Thank you, everyone, for coming to the church and for carrying him.
- MG
Neighbour, KwaZakhele
My three sons played for him. He never shouted. He just stood at the touchline with his arms folded, and the boys ran faster. When one of them was caught stealing from the shop he took the boy to apologise and then to training the next day.
- AF
Transnet colleague at the harbour
Under apartheid, he and I worked the same shift and ate lunch on separate crates. After 1994 we shared a bench and then a braai. He said football taught him to pass first and ask questions later. I wish more people had listened.
- LM
Former junior player, now a professional
I was nine when Coach Magic gave me a pair of boots two sizes too big and told me to grow into them. I kept growing and he kept coaching. My first professional contract came with a call to him before I called my mother.
- TS
Former Red Lions teammate
He could beat a defender on either side and then, without looking, put the ball where I was standing. In seven seasons I scored forty goals, thirty-eight of them from his crosses. Camagu, my brother.