Nkomo third time unlucky as he is killed after two attempts

A community activist that was shot dead at an ANC branch general meeting in the North West had previously survived two attempts on his life.

Ofentse “Chippa” Nkomo, 38, who had been campaigning for five years to have a new and young leadership take over his ward 20 branch in the Madibeng region in Brits, North West, was shot dead by unknown assailants in front of his two children on Sunday.

Nkomo had been at the meeting where he expected two young people he had been campaigning for in the ward take over the leadership of their branch. He had even taken his seven-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter with him.

His distraught family told Sowetan on Monday that in 2019 Nkomo had survived two attempts on his life which included an incident at his grandmother's house in GaRankuwa where his close friend, known to the family as Chuma, was shot dead.

Nkomo's sister, Maggie Makate, believed his brother had created enemies for himself due to politics in the area.

“He knew that there are people who wanted him dead, but on Sunday he did not see this coming,” Makate said.

She said they last spoke on Saturday on the phone where Nkomo was in very high spirits.

Makate described Nkomo “as someone who had been fighting to get nyaope [drug] off the streets of Mothotlung.”

“He even took some of these nyaope addicts and brought them to live with him in his house, he had become something very positive,” Makate said.

Outside the Mothotlung Community Hall where Nkomo was shot dead by unknown men, three rifle casting could be seen on Monday about a metre apart from each other.

Nkomo was standing outside the hall which is two blocks away from his home while other branch members were making their way into the venue for the meeting.

An eyewitness, who was with Nkomo, said a white BMW with tinted windows entered the community hall and parked a few metres from them.

“We couldn't tell how many occupants it had because it had really dark windows,” the eyewitness said.

As a man wearing a black hooded jack and a balaclava got out from the driver's seat holding a rifle, Nkomo started running towards the gate, the eyewitness told Sowetan.

“I think somehow it rang on him that something was about to go down; Chippa started running while I froze as the man with the rifle started shooting to the ground,” he said.

Another man with a rifle also alighted from the passenger seat and pursued Nkomo who had struggled to jump over a bonnet of a parked car.

“Chippa was then rounded off by the two gunmen [who] shot at him while he was down.”

Nkomo's political associate, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nkomo had felt that he had achieved his mission to see changes in their ward.

“Chippa was our campaign leader, and our campaign is to get young people take over our branch and bring about the change they wanted to see,” he said.

They believed that Nkomo was “eliminated” because of his activism.

Provincial police spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said: “Reports suggest that the man was outside Mothotlung Community Hall where he attended a meeting. He was still outside the hall when a white BMW vehicle entered and stopped in the yard,” Mokgwabone said.

He said it is alleged that two occupants wearing face masks alighted from the vehicle and opened fire on the man. In the process, a woman was struck on her left thigh by a stray bullet.

He said the motive is still unknown at this stage. “No one has been arrested and investigation into the matter continues,” he said.

In a separate incident, in Mmakau, also in Madibeng, about 5km from Mothotlung, an ANC member who was walking home from a collapsed branch meeting was shot two times in the leg.

Victor Motseke, 37, was discharged from hospital on Monday after suffering two flesh wounds on his lower and upper leg.

“I think I was targeted because there were arguments between two factions at the venue where the meeting ended up not happening because it did not quorate,” Matseke said.