ANC and opposition express sadness at killing of MP

The African National Congress (ANC) paid tribute to slain member of parliament (MP) Sibusiso Radebe on Wednesday, describing him as “a dedicated servant of our movement” who served in several structures of the party’s Mass Democratic Movement (MDM).

Radebe died of gunshot wounds during an attempted hijacking on Tuesday night in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg. Police have launched a manhunt for two suspects driving a dark-coloured Ford Fiesta with an unknown registration number, believed to be responsible for the murder. Another occupant who was with Radebe at the time of the incident managed to escape unhurt, according to police.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said the ANC sent its “deepest condolences to comrade Radebe’s wife and his entire family”.

“May they find solace in the knowledge that we painfully share their loss and thank them for having borrowed the ANC and the country this incomparable servant of our people,” he said.

The party was “in the process of notifying all the relevant structures of comrade Radebe’s passing, and will make the necessary arrangements to visit the family”.

“We will keep South Africans informed about the memorial and funeral service arrangements once they have been finalised by the family,” added Mthembu.

Radebe, who joined Parliament in 2009, served on the portfolio committee on transport. He previously served as a member of portfolio committees on higher education and training as well as energy.

Before becoming an MP, Radebe who hailed from Mpumalanga, played a leading role in several political structures of the Mass Democratic Movement, which included the Congress of South African Students, South African Student Congress, Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League.

He was politically influenced by both his parents at an early age. He explained during a parliamentary interview last year: “My mother grew up in Lembede Street in Orlando West, Soweto. Lembede is just a street above Ngakane where Nelson and Winnie Mandela lived, now called the Mandela Legacy House. My father was an ANC courier during apartheid days of underground activism. I became [politically] active in 1987 when my house was raided and my two siblings – Lesedi and Arthur – were taken away by the Special Branch.”

Opposition parties on Wednesday joined the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in expressing shock at the killing of Radebe.

“We call on authorities to act swiftly to apprehend suspects and investigate the killing – this does not bode well as we head toward the 2019 elections, which will be fraught with political tensions,” African Christian Democratic Party MP Cheryllyn Dudley said in a statement.

Democratic Alliance chief whip John Steenhuisen also extended his condolences to Radebe’s family, friends and the ANC caucus.

“Radebe will be lovingly remembered by his family, friends and the ANC as a servant of the people who worked hard to improve the lives of South Africans,” Steenhuisen said.

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