Klerksdorp - The SA Communist Party (SACP) expressed shock on Wednesday that North West ANC deputy chairman China Dodovu was arrested for the murder of a regional ANC secretary.
Dodovu, who also serves as the MEC for local government and traditional affairs in the province, was arrested on Monday for the murder of Obuti Chika.
North West SACP deputy secretary Pat Motubatse, said police should leave no stone unturned in their investigation.
“We will wait for the outcomes of the investigation and the prosecution before passing any judgment,” he said.
“It is deeply regrettable that the name of the people's movement Ä the ANC Ä is being associated with such regressive and appalling events.”
Motubatse called for members of the alliance to separate acts conducted by individuals from the party.
“The ANC remains the trusted leader of the alliance and our society. Our people must continue to have trust in this eminent organisation that has led the struggle for the emancipation of the masses for over 100 years,” he said.
“Political assassinations have no place in the 100-year-old people's movement.”
Chika, 33, was shot at point-blank range in the driveway of his home in Alabama, Klerksdorp, on December 14. He died at Klerksdorp Hospital shortly after his arrival there.
A total of eight people, including Dodovu, have been arrested for Chika's murder.
Among those arrested are suspected trigger-man, Sihlangu Sekhakhane. He led police to Msinga in KwaZulu-Natal, where the suspected murder weapon was found.
The other accused are community member Jeffrey Letuka, North West provincial African National Congress Youth League chairman Papiki Baboile, ward secretary Paul Molomonyane, councillor Itumeleng Molebatsi, municipal worker William Malefo and taxi driver Kgotso Kali.
The group was expected to continue with their bail application in the Klerksdorp Magistrate's Court on March 4 and 5. - Sapa