ANC condemns political killings after more than 20 murders recorded during election period
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure said it had recorded more than 20 political murders across the country.
Sihle Jezile
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. Photo: Simphiwe Nkosi
Simphiwe Nkosi
The African National Congress (ANC) said it is concerned at the number of political killings that were recorded in the period leading up to the local government elections.
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) said it had recorded more than 20 political murders across the country.
Speaking at the National Results Centre in Midrand on Saturday, the ANC’s Fikile Mbalula said the crimes are a direct threat to democracy.
Two ANC members were shot dead in Umgababa, south of Durban, while campaigning in October.
On Thursday, an ANC branch chairperson was shot and killed outside a voting station in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
Mbalula called for investigations that will bring those who order these crimes to justice.
“We call on the South African Police Service and the on NPA to treat these killing with the utmost seriousness, to pursue not only those who pull the trigger but those who order and finance these crimes and to protect the witness who are brave enough to speak.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday night, police in the Eastern Cape confirmed that former Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor and United Democratic Movement (UDM) councillor Luxolo Namette was killed in Motherwell.
They said the motive for his murder was under investigation, while the UDM said it casted a shadow over the elections.