Killing of councillors continues in KZN

KWANONGOMA - KwaZulu-Natal has been turned into a political killing field.

Nineteen councillors have been assassinated since September last year.

The ANC's Mabhunu Mkhize of Msunduzi Municipality is the latest victim.

"Since the beginning of the current term of local government, we’ve seen 19 councillors being killed and that is really something that demonstrates that the levels of crime are very high,” said premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

On the surface, KwaNongoma looks calm. But in reality, terror and intimidation reign supreme here.

In the space of just weeks, two councillors have been attacked.

National Freedom Party councillor Ntombenhle Mchunu was gunned down while sleeping at her home.

A few weeks later, her colleague Mphathiseni Manqele -- also from the NFP -- was attacked while dropping off his wife who works at a local hospital.

One of his bodyguards was also injured.

At the time of compiling this news report, Manqele was fighting for his life in hospital.

Nonhlanhla Zungu is Ward 14 NFP councillor in KwaNongoma Local Municipality. There have been several attempts on her life. 

Members of her family have been kidnapped and tortured by would-be assassins looking for her.

She believes the attacks on councillors are politically motivated and it’s a numbers game.

Despite having protectors, she says her life has become a living hell.

There are growing calls for all councillors in the municipality to be provided with security as the situation in the area is volatile.

The killing of councillors is not a new thing in KwaZulu-Natal.

A Moerane Commission of Inquiry found that the killing of councillors in the province is related to multiple factors.

These include but are not limited to intra-party politics, jostling for positions, in some instances for business and tender influence or just pure criminality.

The South African Local Government Association in KwaZulu-Natal says the crisis is beyond political killings.

The Police’ Task Team investigating political killings in the province has been hard at work for years.

There were complaints about the slow pace of investigations and arrests.

But the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Political Killings in KwaZulu-Natal says it’s happy with the work of the task team.

Despite eNCA’s repeated requests for an interview with the police on the work of the task team, none of the police’ top brass were available for the interview.

Police Minister Bheki Cele, through a brief statement from his office, says he’s happy with the work of the task team as it has recorded over 300 arrests so far. 

He says the team boasts a strong conviction rate but didn’t specify how strong and what percentage.

* eNCA's Siphamandla Goge reports.