On the 12th of September 2022, the Department woke up to the harrowing news of yet another assassination of a councillor in the province. This is the second assassination within the space of a week.
On the 8th of September, two ward councillors under the Msinga Local Municipality were attacked by unknown gunmen who opened fire on the vehicle they were travelling in. In this incident, Cllr Siyanda Magubane of ward 11, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries.
Yesterday, the Department learned of the sad news of the assassination of a ward 99 councillor in eThekwini, Cllr Mnqobi Molefe, who was also gunned down by unknown gunmen.
Expressing his bereavement, MEC Zikalala said, “The pain and loss that we continue to suffer as a province in the hands of criminals that are hell-bent on weakening the sphere of local government has reached epic proportions.”
MEC Zikalala is calling upon law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their quest to apprehend the terrorists responsible for these acts of treason. He said the attacks on councillors should be viewed as a crime against the state and the people of South Africa.
“We call upon our communities to come forward with information that will assist law enforcement agencies in their investigations”, said Zikalala. “We also express our condolences to the families of the councillors, their community, political party and the municipalities they served under”, he added.
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