DURBAN - The newly-elected provincial chairperson of the ANC Sihle Zikalala has welcomed the arrest of a suspect who allegedly shot dead an ANC Youth League branch chairperson in Umlazi.
Zikalala said the ANC has received a report of the arrest. He said the arrest will assist because "criminal matters end up being labelled as political"
A 29-year-old man has handed himself to police following the murder of Bongani Usher Mkhize.
Mkhize, 25, was shot dead on Saturday morning at V-Section in Umlazi.
It is alleged Mkhize and his apparent killer were arguing before the shooting occured.
SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said the suspect was known to police.
"A 29-year-old suspect handed himself over to police and was arrested. The firearm that was used in the commission of the crime was also seized from the suspect," he said.
Mkhize died at the scene. The ANC Youth league's provincial secretary, Thanduxolo Sabelo, told The Mercury that Mkhize was a dedicated and promising young leader.
The motive of the killing was unknown but the league is not ruling out the possibility that it could be politically motivated.
Sabelo described Mkhize as a very dedicated and promising young leader.
ANCYL provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo confirms that a brabch chairperson of the YL has been shot dead in Umlazi, south of Durban pic.twitter.com/deuSt62R5U
— Bheki Mbanjwa (@Bheki_Mbanjwa) July 21, 2018
"There seems to be a concerted effort to eliminate young people who are leading the Youth League," Sabelo said.
Mkhize led the league's biggest branch in KZN and was also the deputy chairperson of the ANC in Ward 88.
While Mkhize was not a delegate at the ANC's provincial conference, held earlier at the Durban University of Technology, Sabelo said he had played a role in influencing delegates.
Naicker confirmed that charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm is being investigated by Umlazi SAPS.
The suspect is set to appear in the Umlazi Magistrate's Court next week.