Sedibeng district municipality officials are shocked and fearful, wondering who is next to be killed following the murder of municipal manager Stanley Khanyile, 52, at the weekend.
Khanyile was gunned down at a shopping mall parking lot in Alberton on Saturday in what appears to be a hit.
Speaking to Sowetan yesterday, Banzi Majola, executive director for development and planning in Sedibeng, said Khanyile’s death had come as a shock.
“It’s shocking because we don’t know where this thing was coming from; who is behind it and why Khanyile was killed. We are scared and confused,” said Majola.
He said he had last been in contact with Khanyile on Friday, not knowing that was the last time he would be talking to him.
“We did not speak that much because we were running late for a meeting. I was hoping to see him after that. The news of his death has left me very confused,” said Majola.
Majola said he began working with Khanyile at Lesedi municipality and later got to be led by him again when he joined the Sedibeng municipality as an accounting officer. He had been Sedibeng municipality manger since 2017.
“He had lots of municipal experience and he has imparted a lot of wisdom in my career. He was not a controversial man, as the reports I have seen online have referred to him.”
Majola said Khanyile was a strong leader who was serious and strict about his work.
“When he instructed you to do something he followed up and made sure it was done on time. He was a very kind man who uplifted and empowered everyone in his office and life,” he said.
Majola said before the murder Khanyile did not display any strange behaviour that could have alerted anyone that he was anxious. He said it was business as usual, with planning and working on post-Covid-19 schedules a priority.
Sedibeng mayor Busisiwe Modisakeng said in a statement that the municipality had lost one of its big players.
“We learned with great shock and sadness [of] the passing of our municipal manager, Khanyile. He was shot in Meyersdal by unknown suspects,” said the mayor.
“The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation by the police.”
Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said police have launched a search for the suspects.
“According to information from the scene, at around midday on Saturday October 3 2020, the deceased was in a vehicle parked at a shopping centre on corner Hennie Alberts Road and Michelle Avenue in Meyersdal, Alberton, when a suspect fired multiple shots at him,” said Peters.
Peters said the suspect was reported to have moved away from the scene and jumped into a Toyota Cressida, gold in colour, which had parked closeby.
Khanyile's murder comes after his arrest for fraud in August with two co-accused. They were released on bail. been out on bail.
He was expected to appear at the King Williams Town Magistrates Court on October 16 on charges of fraud and contravening the Public Finance Management Act during his tenure as social development boss in the Eastern Cape.
One of his bail conditions was that he report at the Springs police station on the first Saturday of each month.
Police ask anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or have information that could lead to the apprehension of the suspect(s) to contact their nearest police station or to call the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111.
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