By Celani Sikhakhane
- Three MKP women were shot dead at their Ndwedwe home and a male activist killed in Ward 84, while the party’s iLembe regional secretary survived 17 bullets on Tuesday.
- An ANC ward councillor, a DA candidate and a BOSA candidate were shot dead across Cape Town and Gqeberha on Saturday, as South Africa’s voter registration weekend began.
South Africa’s road to the 4 November local government elections is turning bloody. At least seven politicians and activists have been killed in separate incidents across four provinces since Saturday.
The most recent attacks hit the uMkhonto weSizwe Party in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.
Three women were shot dead at a home in Ndwedwe, in the Gandhi Zone area of Ward 53, shortly after they returned from a party meeting. They were Slindile Pretty Girl Ntshangase, Thandeka Adelaide Ntshangase and Ncamsile Luthuli.
A fourth woman, iLembe regional secretary Zandile Mazaza Mbhasha, was travelling back separately from a meeting in Durban when gunmen opened fire on her Suzuki seven-seater. She survived 17 bullets. A fifth member, Mthokozisi Redondo Cele, was shot dead in Ward 84.
MKP KZN spokesperson Mkhuseli Mlengana said the attacks follow a pattern of threats the party has been tracking across the province.
“We are deeply concerned that these incidents may signal the re-emergence of political violence as the country moves closer to the 2026 local government elections,” Mlengana said.
He added that the attack on Mbhasha appeared targeted.
“It appeared as a calculated and targeted attack towards her as she survived 17 rounds of ammunition shot at her,” he said.
The KZN killings came three days after a violent Saturday that claimed three more political lives. ANC Ward 27 councillor Sicelo Mleve was shot dead at his office in Zwide, Gqeberha, at around 6.50pm during a community meeting. Two gunmen stormed the office, robbed those present of their cellphones, then shot Mleve multiple times. He died at the scene.
Less than an hour earlier in Cape Town, DA candidate Sinovuyo Dyokwe was shot dead in Dunoon, Milnerton, while walking home from a voter registration venue. She had spent the day registering voters. In Gugulethu, BOSA candidate Leon Ngcikwe was also killed on Saturday evening.
Two more men linked to a political party were found dead in Bekkersdal on the West Rand. Their party affiliation has not been confirmed by police.
An ANC activist, Vukani Majozi, was also shot dead in Ward 77 in Welgedacht near Chatsworth on Saturday after returning from a Father’s Day outing with his family. The ANC’s eThekwini regional coordinator Thanduxolo Sabelo confirmed the killing.
Police are investigating all the incidents. No arrests have been made.
Pictured above: The bullet-riddled Suzuki seven-seater belonging to MKP iLembe regional secretary Zandile Mazaza Mbhasha, who survived 17 gunshots in Durban on Tuesday.
Image source: Supplied
