Police are probing the possibility that taxi hit men may have been behind 14 suspected political killings in KwaZulu-Natal in the months leading up to next week’s local government elections.
That was according to Police Minister Nathi Nhleko who was addressing journalists on Wednesday on the work of the task team established to probe “so-called political killings”.
He said investigations were continuing, with several suspects arrested.
The task team in KwaZulu-Natal included seven detectives, five police crime intelligence officers, four members of the Hawks, and 11 members of the province’s taxi violence task team.
“We felt it was important to pull them into the equation… because you may find it’s possible that one particular case has got similar kinds of suspects in one form or another, precisely because most of these cases you’ll find hit men are being used… and some of these hit men are operating in the taxi industry,” Nhleko said.
Nhleko said most of the cases being investigated were in KwaZulu-Natal, but they were investigating at least four murders in other provinces.
“In Gauteng, we stand at one particular case that arose on June 19 at the Pretoria showgrounds, where there was an ANC media briefing around a mayoral candidate,” said Nhleko.
He was referring to an ANC member that was shot dead while he was waiting for the ruling party to announce Thoko Didiza as the mayoral candidate for Tshwane.
One man was arrested and was released on bail.
The case will return to court on August 11.
Murder cases were also being investigated in Doornkop in North West, in Tsolo in the Eastern Cape and in Salvation in Mpumalanga.
These figures did not include politically-related incidents reported this week.
In KwaZulu-Natal, a total of 25 cases were being investigated, said Nhleko.
These included 14 cases of murder and attempted murder, two cases of arson, two of public violence, two of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, one case of malicious damage to property, and one of culpable homicide.
“We had seven arrests for murder and, on attempted murder, we effected two arrests.
“On the possession of unlicensed firearms, we’ve had three arrests, public violence eight arrests, assault GBH and pointing of firearm three arrests,” said the minister.
Nhleko said police would be deployed throughout the country in the run-up to and after Wednesday’s municipal polls to maintain law and order.
“We are quite committed as the SAPS in ensuring we have peaceful elections in this country.
“We have successfully done that over the years, so we want to ensure that even in this particular local government elections, we experience the same as South Africans.”
Nhleko could not provide an exact figure of the number of people killed in incidents related to political contestation ahead of the polls.
In the latest incident, an ANC councillor candidate in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in Port Elizabeth, 35-year-old Nceba Dywili, was gunned down by two unknown suspects on Tuesday night.
African News Agency