Durban - Two people shot dead and one wounded in Wembezi, near Estcourt, were ANC members, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said on Wednesday.
“The forces of darkness have again conspired to savagely end the lives of our comrades in Estcourt's C Section, an area which has become a death trap for African National Congress activists,” spokesman Bongani Shisa Tembe said.
A man and a woman were killed in the shooting on Tuesday, said Captain Thulani Zwane.
The woman was a party agent during the May 7 general elections, said Tembe.
Another woman was wounded and taken to a nearby hospital for medical care.
Three men, aged between 32 and 40, were arrested later on Tuesday night for the shooting.
Tembe said many other people, including ANC branch chairman Sibusiso Majola and ANC ward councillor Jimmy Lembede, were previously killed in the area by people who had links to a certain political party.
“We strongly condemn this barbaric attack and we call on all political parties to educate their members that political differences should not be resolved through the barrel of the gun,” said Tembe.
KwaZulu-Natal transport, community safety, and liaison MEC Willies Mchunu said the shooting undermined the stability in the area and sought to undermine the gains made by government through the multi-party political intervention committee.
“We are shocked and disturbed at this barbaric action,” said Mchunu.
“I was there on election day and was satisfied that we have stabilised the area through various interventions, including dialogue with political actors and deployment of policemen in the area,” he said.
Mchunu said an extensive engagement with the community, including political parties and police management in the area, was planned and would be made public soon.
The men would appear in the Estcourt Magistrate's Court soon. - Sapa