Lungani Zungu
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will go to the municipal polls one fighter down after one of its councillor candidates, Thulani Shangase, was gunned down in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday afternoon.
Shangase, EFF’s candidate for Ward 20 in Msunduzi Municipality, was shot in the Herwood area of Plessislaer in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.
He was due to hold a meeting with EFF party agents, said the police.
His cousin Musa Sibisi said Shangase always put his family first.
“We are poorer without him,” said Sibisi.
“We understand he went outside to answer his phone and that’s when he was shot dead.”
Sibisi would not link his death to politics.
“I hope that police will uncover evidence that would lead to the arrest of suspects,” said Sibisi.
However, Bheki Msomi, the EFF secretary of the uMgungundlovu region, didn’t rule out a political motive for Shangase’s killing.
“It is difficult to think that Shangase’s killing was not linked to his political activities. There’s a lot of political intolerance in our region,” said Msomi.
“But we will allow the law-enforcement authorities to do their work without any interference.”
This is the same region where EFF leader Julius Malema was blocked from campaigning four weeks ago by ANC members.
KZN is known for its high number of political killings, especially in the run-up to local government elections.
More than 36 people, many of whom belonged to the ANC, were killed ahead of the 2016 local elections.
The KZN midlands, which includes the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Richmond, were hot spots of political violence in the 1980s, which saw the rise of self-proclaimed warlords like Sifiso Nkabinde, a UDM leader based in Richmond.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo confirmed the killing.
“We have mobilised a 72-hour Activation Plan which entails the mobilisation of specialised units such as Crime Intelligence, the KZN Political Task Team, Detectives and DPCI to ensure that evidence, intelligence and information, which can help track and arrest those responsible, is gathered,” he said.
He said no arrests have been made.
He wouldn’t be drawn into commenting on whether the killing was politically motivated.
