Numsa welcomes KZN arrests

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Published Sep 12, 2012

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Durban - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) on Wednesday welcomed the arrest of two men accused of murdering two ANC branch members on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.

“We hope the arrest of the two suspects will shed some light on the underlying or deep-seated reasons behind the atrocious murder of the two comrades (Bheki) Chiliza and (Dumisani) Malunga,” said regional secretary Mbuso Ngubane in a statement.

Chiliza was Numsa's south coast chairman.

Ngubane said KwaZulu-Natal was still scarred from apartheid-sponsored political violence that ravaged the province in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The union believed the two arrested men should not be granted bail.

The two men were arrested on Monday, said Colonel Vincent Mdunge. “They were taken in yesterday afternoon 1/8Monday 3/8, and after questioning it was realised there was a direct link between the men and the committing of the offence,” said Mdunge.

Malunga, 42, and Chiliza, 39, were shot dead while driving in the Oshabeni area at about 9.30pm on Sunday.

The arrested men were expected to appear in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

On Monday, the African National Congress condemned the shooting of Malunga, the Oshabeni branch chairman, and Chiliza, the branch secretary.

“We are very concerned with the killing of our comrades. This is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated,” ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said in a statement.

In July, ANC councillor Wandile Mkhize was shot dead in a drive-by shooting near his home in Manaba, Margate.

Nhlakanipho Shabane, who was with him at the time, spent three weeks in a coma before dying in hospital.

Two men have been charged for their murders. - Sapa

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