Durban - The police have been directed to work around the clock to ensure the killers of a senior Nongoma municipality official are brought to book, the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison has said.
Archie Zweli Duma, 40, employed as a manager for internal audit with the municipality, was gunned down in the car park outside the municipal offices on Monday. He died instantly.
The MEC, Mxolisi Kaunda, briefed by the police management in Nongoma about the murder on Wednesday morning, said it was a "shocking" incident, which had happened on the eve of the new municipality councils in the province, including Nongoma.
"We condemn this barbaric act which comes as a blot on what have been otherwise peaceful elections in KZN and the victim's untimely death is a setback to the municipality as he possessed the most critical skills needed by this government," Kaunda said.
"The victim had come through the gate to the offices and had parked his car when he was approached by this person. Then people heard a gunshot," the MEC said.
A police task team which dealt with high profile and political cases was investigating, he said.
A candidate councillor had recently been killed in the area, but since then, there had been a change in environment and the situation had been peaceful, he said.
"We have to allow police to investigate and anyone with information must come forward to help," he said.
Duma had worked for the municipality for about three years.
Meanwhile, an ANC local councillor in southern KwaZulu-Natal has survived a shooting.
Bongiwe Nduli, a Ward 7 councillor in Jolivet in the uBuhlebezwe Local Municipality (Ixopo), said she did not know how she survived the attack, which happened while she was sleeping.
Speaking to the Daily News's sister newspaper, iSolezwe, from her hospital bed, Nduli said she heard something hit her bedroom window before shots rang out. One of the bullets hit her thigh.
As she fell off the bed, more shots followed and she was hit again in her thigh.
The municipality's first council meeting was expected to take place on Friday, when all councillors would be inducted.
Nduli's family has asked the ANC and police to provide security for her and other family members, who include a disabled brother.
Police were investigating a case of attempted murder.
Daily News