North West councillor shot twice in head while walking home from shop

A 54-year-old Rustenburg Local Municipality councillor was killed on Friday evening while returning home from the shop.

Rustenburg councillor killed

The councillor was shot twice as she approached the gate of the house she was walking to.

The murder occurred in Photsaneng village, outside Rustenburg.

“According to information available at this stage, the victim and her cousin were walking home from the shop and approaching the gate when one of the four unknown men who were following them, got closer and allegedly fired two shots,” said North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone.

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“The victim was allegedly shot below the left ear and forehead,” added Mokgwabone.

Suspects fled in BMW

Police in Rustenburg have launched a manhunt for the four suspects. They allegedly fled from the scene in a BMW.

“The victim‘s cousin ran into the yard and screamed for help. As a result, the victim’s brother got out of the house and spotted the suspects running away and eventually fled from the place with a BMW vehicle,” said Mokgwabone.

The councillor was declared dead by emergency and Medical Services (EMS) at the scene.

“The motive of the incident is yet to be established and investigations are underway,” added Mokgwabone.

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No arrests have been made yet.

Political killings ahead of elections

The Rustenburg councillor’s murder is the latest in a handful of politically-motivated killings in South Africa this year alone.

In February, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) said it was concerned about political killings ahead of the national and provincial elections on 29 May.  

 KZN Salga chairperson Thami Ntuli said statements made by political leaders were adding fuel to fire.

“What is also not helping is some of our political leaders who are using inflammatory language during their campaign instead of sticking to political diplomacy while wooing voters, thus, the incidents of the past few weeks are worrying and something should be done by the police and those in power to arrest this situation,” he said.

Ntuli also questioned the effectiveness of the police after nobody was arrested for any of the four murders in KZN in January.

“The brazenness of the criminals who kill them shows that they knew there will not be any consequences for their actions,” he said.

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