A former councillor of the National Freedom Party has been gunned down at Seventeen Men’s Hostel in Umlazi, south of Durban. It is alleged that Bheki Mkhize was attacked by unknown suspects outside his home.
NFP Spokesperson Canaan Mdletshe says they believe that it was a politically motivated killing.
“As the National Freedom Party, we really wish to express our deepest concern about the killing of comrade Mkhize and we hope that the police will do everything in their power to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to book. But we are going to engage with police on national level. We are going to engage with Police Minister Bheki Cele and the National Commissione, as well as the KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner, so that they can set up a special team to investigate this matter.”
Kwazulu Natal has in recent years been plagued by politically-motivated killings, with perhaps the most high-profile matter being that of slain former ANC Youth League Secretary-General Sindiso Magaqa.
Magaqa was attacked in 2017. The former ANCYL leader was taken to hospital, but succumbed to his injuries after almost two months in hospital.
The case has been dogged with several delays as three of the accused were not properly represented.
In 2018, ANC president Cyril Ramphosa set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee of Ministers in the Security cluster to probe the incidents of violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
Below is file video looking into political killings in KwaZulu Natal:
