Celani Sikhakhane
Police Minister Bheki Cele told the media on Tuesday that the police know the identity of the hitman who killed the ANC Tshwane ward 22 councillor Tshepa Motaung, but they have not yet been arrested.
Motaung was assassinated as he returned home from a Heritage Day event which took place on Friday.
Cele, Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela visited Motaung’s family on Tuesday afternoon.
Following a meeting with the family, Makhura and Cele briefed the media on the murder.
Makhura said that, based on the available evidence, it is believed that the hit on Motaung was linked to political contestation.
Cele said he was satisfied with the progress the police had made in the investigation. He added that the trigger-men had been identified.
Motaung’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, confirmed to Scrolla.Africa that the killer is known, but has not yet been arrested.
“Yes the suspect is a known political killer but he has not been arrested,” Motaung’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, told Scrolla.Africa.
At the press briefing, Premier Makhura said at least three councillors in Mabopane had been shot and killed in mysterious circumstances in the past year.
This had led to at least three other councillors fleeing their homes because they feared for their safety.
Premier Makhura said it was believed that organised crime syndicates were behind the disrupting of political meetings and were hired to carry out these killings.
Motaung’s aunt, Malvin Montjane, said the councillor’s family was devastated by the murder.
She said the way in which he was killed was brutal, and it had left the family feeling bereft and hopeless.
Motaung’s brother Tebogo said the family wanted answers about whether the murder was politically motivated and, if so, what the specific motives were.
He said the family had been struggling, but there was hope that, if justice prevailed, they would be able to get closure.
