The Speaker of the Amajuba District Council in the north of KwaZulu-Natal has been shot dead at his Newcastle home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is the second time within a week that a councillor has been gunned down in the province.
Last weekend, eThekwini African National Congress (ANC) ward councillor Minenhle Mkhize was shot dead as he arrived at his Cliffdale home in Durban.
The Amajuba District Council says in a statement that the details surrounding councillor Jerome Ndima’s death remain sketchy.
LGE 2021 | Focus on the re-emergence of “political killings” in KZN
Mayor Vuselwa Bam has called on law enforcement agencies to bring the killers speedily to book.
The Amajuba District Council says Ndima was one of its longest-serving councillors.
The council says Ndima will be remembered as someone who shared his knowledge with younger councillors and who worked tirelessly for the people of the district.
Ndima was elected speaker of the council at the end of November after the Local Government Elections.
Leaders of the district council are meeting with members of the Ndima family to pay their respects and to find out more about his murder.
Meanwhile, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says it is concerned by the ongoing killing of councillors in the province following the death of Ndima.
The IFP’s National spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa has described Ndima as a humble person.
“The IFP, therefore, expects the SAPS and related law enforcement agencies to investigate this matter with urgency including the activation of the 72-hour swift response for these matters. Councillor Ndima was a humble and responsible servant of the people who diligently dedicated his life to public service. His untimely death is a loss for the people who he served with integrity for 15 years as a councillor. The IFP is deeply shocked by this news and extremely worried about the continued killing of public representatives especially councillors without justice ever being served,” says Hlengwa.
In October 2021, the task team investigating political killings in KZN says it’s making some headway:
Additional reporting by Nonhlakanpho Magwaza.
