Cogta MEC condemns senseless murder of KZN municipal official

KZN MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube has condemned the senseless murder of Thobani Mathews Ndaba who was the acting director for community services in the uMvoti local municipality.

Ndaba was killed yesterday in his office in Greytown by unknown gunmen.

Dube-Ncube said she believed that this murder was an attack on the law in the country as criminal elements continued to destabilise the institution of local government which was meant to serve the people.

“As a province, we will not succumb to these criminal elements, we urge communities to come forward with information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

“As the institution of local government, we have lost yet another dedicated public servant whose wealth of experience and knowledge benefited our people. We call upon the law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their search for the criminals responsible for this murder.”

Dube-Ncube has extended her heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of the slain municipal official.

Ndaba’s killing comes a week after the house of Ward 12 councillor Nancy Jili in the uBuhlebezwe Local Municipality in KZN was burnt to the ground.

Following that incident, Dube-Ncube called on law enforcement agencies in the province to increase security measures aimed at protecting councillors whose lives were in danger.

READ MORE: Councillor’s house burnt down in KZN

The incidents come after KZN premier Willies Mchunu in September released the long-awaited report of the Moerane commission into the killing of politicians to the public.

Mchunu said that politicians in the province needed to take responsibility for the culture of intolerance and undertook to ensure that the report’s recommendations were considered and implemented by national government.

The 424-page report made recommendations governing the conduct of political parties, the security forces and government in a bid to get to the “root causes” of the killings – which escalated from 2015 – and to prevent them from continuing.

The report recommends that political parties must “take responsibility for the violent competition between their members for political positions and power”.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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