Durban - More blood has been spilled and more lives lost ahead of the municipal elections next month.
Two ANC candidate councillors were murdered on Monday – one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.
ANC members who spoke to the Daily News on Monday, but requested anonymity, said one never knew when it would be their turn.
“I can tell you that the road to the local government elections is bloody. Go to the leadership for comment on this matter. This is scary,” said a member.
On Monday morning, Bongani Skhosana, ward one candidate councillor in Umziwabantu Municipality in Harding, was killed at his home.
As the ANC issued statements of condolence to the Skhosana family, in the afternoon at about 2pm, Khanyisile Ngobese-Sibisi, the ward 20 (Acarciaville) Ladysmith candidate’s car was peppered with bullets from an automatic rifle.
She was on her way to a 67 Minutes programme in the same ward when a vehicle approached and shots were fired.
Ngobese-Sibisi, who was also the ANC Women’s League Ukhahlamba regional secretary, was with three other comrades in her Mercedes Benz when they came under attack from occupants of a white Nissan Sentra. She was the only one hit.
ANC Ukhahlamba regional secretary, Sipho Hlomuka, confirmed that Ngobese-Sibisi, 41, was on her way to their Mandela programme when she was attacked.
However, he would not be drawn on whether this was an internal hit.
“All I know is that she was shot more than five times and she died at Laverna Hospital here. This is a serious matter, but we can’t tell what the cause is.
"Two weeks ago, in Peacetown here in Ladysmith, another candidate councillor was shot at. He had to be transferred to Pietermaritzburg and was only discharged on Friday.
“We only appeal to the police to do their best in resolving these incidents,” said Hlomuka. These cases and earlier ones have been handed over to the Hawks.
Spokesman Brigadier Hanguani Mulaudzi said Police Minister Nathi Nhleko had set up a task team to investigate these cases.
“This is a great concern that in one day two candidate councillors from the same political party were killed. More people will get killed if witnesses don’t come forward with information that could assist in arresting the killers. We are dealing with a disturbing and worrisome situation ahead of the municipal elections. These are planned hits and we are confident that our task team, which is already on the ground, will make a breakthrough on these cases,” said Mulaudzi.
Yesterday’s killings bring to more than 10 the number of politically motivated killings in KwaZulu-Natal since January.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, confirmed that Skhosana was killed by unknown suspects while starting his vehicle at Santombe township at about 5.30am.
He sustained two gunshot wounds to the head.
No arrests have been made.
ANC provincial secretary, Super Zuma, said these killings were reversing the gains made in stabilising KZN.
He said law-enforcement agencies should increase their visibility in known hot spots and beef up their security plans for the local government elections.
“We are appealing to the law enforcers to act swiftly with their investigations of all politically linked killings to ensure peace and stability ahead of the local government elections,” he said.
The ANC Women’s League condemned Ngobese’s murder.
The league’s provincial secretary, Nonhlanhla Gabela, described the killing as an act of cowardice.
“We are very concerned that these political killings are in the main targeting female candidates. We lost two female comrades in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg, who were brutally murdered on their way from a branch meeting of the ANC.
“In Newcastle the ward candidate who was killed was a female, Cde Thembi Mbongwa, who was shot and killed in front of her children. Today we have now lost another female ward candidate in our regional secretary, Cde Khanyisile, who died serving her community,” said Gabela.
Political analyst, Somadoda Fikeni, said KZN had a history of political violence, “whether it was ANC against UDM or NFP or IFP, it doesn’t matter, but the violence has been there”.
“The violence has taken another form now. It looks like it is targeted assassinations within the ANC, and the stakes are high for positions. Opportunism and the urge to win office at whatever cost has set in a long time ago,” said Fikeni.
He said there was a need to strengthen law enforcement intelligence and to ensure that whoever was caught and found guilty was dealt a harsh jail sentence.
“There is also a need to end factionalism and corruption. The creation of opportunities and procurement policies that will ensure that whoever gets a government tender doesn’t feel that once an incumbent office-bearer leaves office, then that’s the end of getting tenders. There must be a level play ground,” said Fikeni.