DURBAN - WHILE the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said it was on the heels of the people who were assassinating its members, a political analyst said it was just “lip service”.
Super Zuma, provincial secretary, said an internal provincial task team had been established but no one had yet been arrested.
He was reacting to the deaths of Lungisani Mnguni, 34, and Sthembiso Mhlongo, 35, both members at the Moses Mabhida Region, which is led by Mthandeni Dlungwane, also MEC for Education. They were both gunned down this week.
Mhlongo was the ANC Youth League’s deputy secretary in the region, while Mnguni was the only delegate from Ward 7 in Camperdown, who was due to attend the December ANC elective conference.
Zuma said the team was focused on hotspots like the Harry Gwala and Moses Mabhida.
Analyst Thabani Khumalo, who said he had been keenly following the deaths, blamed ANC leaders for “looking the other way” even though they know what was fuelling the killings. “The ANC is deeply divided. Unless they unite, more people are going to die."
As the road to the ANC elective conference became more bloody, Khumalo said the issue would feature prominently in Gwede Mantashe’s secretariat report, to be given during the conference.
“Mantashe’s report, without touching extensively on political killings, will be half-prepared,” said Khumalo.
In July, former ANCYL secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, was shot in his hometown, Umzimkhulu. He subsequently died in September.
In April, Magaqa’s brother-in-law, Khaya Thobela, who was also the Harry Gwala region’s deputy secretary, and Umzimkhulu municipality speaker, Khaya Thobela, was shot dead.
The following month, former Umzimkhulu councillor and branch leader Khaya Mgcwaba was gunned down.
Close to 60 ANC members have died since March 2014, which prompted the provincial government to institute the Moerane Commission that is tasked with investigating the politically motivated deaths. Some occurred while the commission was sitting.
Leaders of the ANC and its alliance partner, the SACP, testified at the commission.
Khumalo said of their testimonies: “They like to play with words and shifting the responsibility. No one wants to say I am wrong and take responsibility.”
Explaining the worrying trend, Khumalo said: “In 2014, one would think that the killings were triggered by the general elections held that year.
“Last year, the killings within the ANC were sparked by the branch nomination process for the local government elections held in August. This year, it’s the party’s the elective conference.”
Zuma was firm that the party was not resting on its laurels and was seriously addressing the matter.
“The killings are rife, but the party is doing something about it and we will not rest until the culprits are arrested. What we noted is that the killings have now shifted from Harry Gwala region to Moses Mabhida region because the task team is working hard on that region.
He said: “We will not say the killings are only within the party, we told the Moerane Commission that the motives for the killings were deeper than we thought and should be investigated both internally and externally.”
Zuma shot down claims that this was an intra-party matter.
“For example, some of the culprits that were arrested in Umkhanyakude (northern KZN) were not ANC members. They belong to another party.”
Zuma would not disclose any information about the composition of the task team, and said it was a confidential internal matter.