Newcastle Municipality deputy mayor survives shooting, bodyguard killed, one suspect under police guard

Shootout between alleged hitmen and bodyguards at deputy mayor’s home leaves one dead and two injured. Picture: SAPS

Shootout between alleged hitmen and bodyguards at deputy mayor’s home leaves one dead and two injured. Picture: SAPS

Published Mar 15, 2022

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DURBAN - Newcastle deputy mayor Musa “Shukela” Thwala is reeling from shock after one of his personal security guards was killed during a shoot-out with gunmen on Monday night.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said Thwala was not attacked and the altercation took place on the road outside his premises at Section 6 in Madadeni in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.

It is alleged that gunmen arrived in a bakkie outside his home and opened fire, injuring his security guards.

One of the guards, aged 36, who was shot in the head, died on Tuesday and another is recovering in hospital.

One of the alleged hitmen was shot and is under police guard in hospital. Thwala founded the political party The Team Sugar South Africa (TSSA).

Sources close to him claim the “hit” could have come from tenderpreneurs who wanted to gain access to businesses in the technical services department that Thwala heads.

Sources said it was an intense gun battle.

Thwala, a former EFF leader in Newcastle, was not harmed but shaken, said colleagues.

A source from TSSA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Daily News that Thwala was seen as a stumbling block for business people who wanted tenders in the technical services department, saying that since the department fell under Thwala’s office there were people who saw him as a threat to their livelihoods.

“We suspect he was being targeted for tenders. We do not know any other reasons except suspecting he was the target for tenders,” the source said.

According to TSSA deputy president Andile Nkosi, Thwala was at home when gunmen in a white bakkie entered the property.

He said the deputy mayor’s guards countered them, and a gun battle ensued.

“He was visibly still shocked by the incident, but he was not hurt,” Nkosi said.

Naicker said according to police reports guards noticed a vehicle parked across the street near a shopping centre, saying the occupants of the vehicle allegedly attacked the security officials who were standing on the road.

Naicker said the motive for the shooting is unknown.

Newcastle SAPS are investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.

Daily News