ANC politicians to visit slain councillor’s house after ‘barbaric murder’

The ANC KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) chairperson and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda will visit the family of slain ward 99 councillor, Mnqobi Victor Molife.

Molife, who was an ANC councillor, was gunned down around 10pm on Sunday in Mvutshini near Margate.

According to the South African Police Service (Saps), the 39-year-old man was with his partner when three armed suspects entered the premises.

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The suspects shot him and fled the scene without taking any items.

“The suspects fled the scene without taking anything. The victims partner was unharmed during the shooting. The motive for the killing is unknown at this stage,” Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker told News24.

A case of murder has since been opened at the Margate police station for investigation.

‘Barbaric murder’

Kaunda conveyed his condolences and called on law enforcement to “work tirelessly” to find Molife’s killers.

The eThekwini mayor said that since last year, there was an increase in the number of killings of public representatives in the city.

“It is unfortunate that while the intervention [of Minister of Police Bheki Cele] was beginning to yield positive results, we have witnessed this latest incident,” he said in a statement.

In a statement, the ANC in KZN condemned the “barbaric murder” of their councillor with the party saying it was concerned that “another young leader’s life has been cut short under very mysterious circumstances”.

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“The brutality and violent manner in which Molife’s life has been taken away is something that can’t be easily erased from our minds. It is even worse for the members of the family, especially the kids and the wife,” the party said.

“We support the call that a team of ballistic experts need to be assigned to ensure the gathering of evidence and to carry spot examinations of all firearms, including licensed firearms in all crime scenes.

“We are also suggesting that a sophisticated technology must be utilised to conduct touch DNA and fingerprinting on firearms and dangerous weapons and other exhibits found at crime scenes,” the ANC added.

The party also called on ANC volunteers and members of the public “to be part of a united campaign against crime”.

The provincial chair Siboniso Duma will also be visiting the family on Tuesday.

Political killings

Several ANC councillors and ward candidates were killed last year ahead of the local government elections held in November.

Three women – Ncamisile Shange, Beatrice Nzama and Philisiwe Jili – were gunned down during a drive-by shooting in Inanda, KZN, in September.

In the same month, ANC councillor Tshepo Motaung was shot 20 times while on his way home in Mabopane, Tshwane.

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Motaung’s murder was previously reported to be politically-motivated and linked to the ANC’s councillor candidate-selection disputes.

Another ANC councillor, Siyabonga Mkhize, was shot dead in October during a door-to-door campaign in Cato Crest in Durban.

Two councillors – Ward 43 councillor Andile Andries, 45, and his acting branch secretary, Lubabalo Keso, 41 – were killed at Kariega in Nelson Mandela Bay in May this year mere days before the Eastern Cape elective conference.