There is growing fear among KwaZulu-Natal politicians, more so ANC councilors in eThekwini after one of their colleagues was gunned down.
eThekwini councilor Minenhle Mkhize was buried at the weekend in Richmond, a week after he killed outside his home in Cliffdale on January 22.
On the same day, Amajuba district municipality speaker and IFP councilor Reginald Ndima was shot and killed at his home in Newcastle.
Police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker said Ndima had just returned home and when he was shot by unknown assailants at the gate of his property.
“A family member saw an unknown vehicle fleeing the scene after the shooting. The victim was conveyed to a local hospital immediately after the incident, however he was declared dead on arrival. Detectives from the Political Violence Task Team will be probing the incident,” Naicker said.
Naicker could not answer what had happened to the investigations of killings of councilors which took place last year.
Mkhize’s killing has shaken his colleagues with one councillor telling Sowetan they had spent an hour during their caucus meeting on Wednesday to discuss their safety.
“Minenhle did not get any threats but he was killed," said the councillor who asked not to be named.
“It is painful to live your life looking behind your shoulder because you do not know what is going to happen to you. As I am speaking to you, I do not sleep where my family is. If that time to go comes, I want to go alone,” the councillor said.
The ANC, said it would be premature to assume that Mkhize was killed for political reasons.
“Comrade Minenhle had no known enemies within and outside the organisation. That is why we have called on the people who have information to alert relevant law enforcement agencies,” said provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela.
Last week, News24 quoted eThekwini speaker Thabani Nyawose saying at least eight councillors had reported threats on their lives to police and the matter was being attended to by crime intelligence in the province.
Political killings have been a problem in KwaZulu-Natal for a number years without a lasting solution. The killings reach high levels ahead of local government elections.
This forced provincial government to establish a commission of inquiry in 2018 led by advocate Marumo Moerane. In its findings released in 2018, the commission said that there were serious weaknesses in the criminal justice system and national intelligence which badly affected the coordination of investigations when dealing with political killings.
Another ANC eThekwini councillor said the process towards the election of a councillor candidate caused tension.
He said nominee for the position of being a councillor can lose when they are presented before community members.
“The loser then then thinks that I have become number two because this person has now become number one. He then says if number one can be eliminated, my life would change,” he said.
He said lives of councillors can also be under threat due to service delivery issues.
“I don’t want to lie, we are afraid…It is our reality. We can die at any time,” the councillor said.
He dismissed views that some of the attacks on councillors could just be criminal activity and said “when a politician is killed, it has to do with politics”.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa described Ndima as a humble and responsible servant.
“His untimely death is a loss for the people he served with integrity for 15 years as a councillor.”
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