Durban – The African National Congress (ANC) on Monday condemned the death of two men in Inchanga, near Durban on Sunday near an ANC meeting but remains tight-lipped on whether they believe the killings were politically motivated.
eThekwini regional secretary Bheki Ntuli said in a press release that the organisation is “…committed to [ensuring] free political activity in the area”.
Two men, believed to be around 40 and 60-years-old, were shot near a venue where Inchanga residents said a South African Communist Party (SACP) meeting was being held. The SACP meeting was taking place at Kandokweni sports’ ground, Freadville – about three kilometres from the ANC meeting, which was being held to nominate candidates for councillors in ward four.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu also condemned the attacks via press release on Monday. According to Mchunu, besides the two men who were killed, five others were injured, 10 cars were damaged, and tyres were slashed.
“Our community members cannot be held at ransom by [a] few lawless criminals. We will work around the clock to ensure that we bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book and ensure they face the full might of the law,” said Mchunu.
“We appeal to anyone with information on this case to bring it to our attention so that we ensure that these criminals are arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Mchunu.
Ntuli said the ANC was calling on structures, community members, and leaders of society “to work together to create an environment of peaceful co-existence and acceptance of human beings by one another. It is for this reason that we are calling for calm during this period”.
“Those who have information about this incident are requested to approach the SAPS. As the (ANC) regional leadership we have taken a decision to engage with alliance partner, the SACP, and local structures to work hand in hand to restore peace and stability in the area,” he said.
“We cannot speculate at this stage about the root-cause of this shoot-out, but we are calling upon our members and alliance partners to be vigilant. We are also aware that there are individuals who have hijacked genuine community concerns around service delivery to advance their criminal activities. Clearly, police alone cannot deal with criminals unless if there are people in the community who can work with police to make it possible for criminals to commit crime,” he said.
He said the ANC was “very much concerned about instability in Ward 4 in Intshanga…”.
SAPS spokesperson in KZN, brigadier Jay Naicker, said on Sunday that the motive for the attacks was known. He said three men who were in possession of firearms had been taken in for questioning.
African News Agency
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