Two suspects arrested for IFP councillor Reginald Ndima’s murder

Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the murder of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) councillor Reginald Ndima.

Ndima, the speaker of the Amajuba District Municipality, was shot and killed after he was ambushed in the driveway of his Newcastle home in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on 29 January.

The suspects – Mhlonishwa Sokhulu and Sibusiso Chocholo – were arrested and charged for Ndima’s murder within days after the incident occurred, according to the South African Police Service (Saps).

“The pair were found with a 357 magnum revolver which was seized and taken in for ballistic analysis to determine if the firearm was used in the commission of the crime. The Task Team has also seized a Ford Ranger that is believed to have been utilised by the pair as a getaway vehicle,” KZN Saps spokesperson, Colonel Athlenda Mathe.

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Mathe also indicated that Sokhulu and Chocholo have since appeared in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court.

“They have been remanded in custody for a formal bail application that will be heard on Monday, 14 February.”

National police commissioner, General Khehla Sitole has commended the police for arresting suspects.

“This latest arrest must serve as a deterrent to those who continuosly perpetrate such crimes. We will continue to ensure that the necessary resources are deployed to prevent and combat any further incidents of this nature.

“We also urge our communities to work closely with the Saps in combatting these heinous crimes,” Sitole said.

Multifaceted approach

Earlier this month, Parliament’s Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) condemned the murders of Ndima and ANC eThekwini councillor, Minenhle Mkhize.

Mkhize was also gunned down last month in a hail of bullets, also by unknown gunmen, outside his home in Cliffdale, near Hillcrest.

Reacting to the incidents, the committee said the political killings in KZN had long reached “crisis proportions” and required a multifaceted approach to be stopped.

READ MORE: How KZN became the breeding ground for SA’s political assassins

“The continued killing of councillors – with the recent murder of councillor Minenhle Mkhize and councillor Reginald Ndima – is unacceptable.

“Furthermore, the inability of the law enforcement agencies to prosecute the perpetrators and masterminds behind the murders encourages them to continue to commit these heinous acts,” the committee’s chairperson, China Dodovu said in a statement.

Dodovu said the effective investigation and eventual prosecution of perpetrators and instigators were the first steps in the fight against the killings and for this to happen, the Saps should strengthen its intelligence-gathering apparatus in order to detect the planned killings before they happen.

Politcal killings

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

On 8 July 2021, ANC member Godfrey Gouwe was killed in a hail of bullets, Rekord reported at the time.

According to the publication, Gouwe’s body was discovered by his 18-year-old son just a few houses away from the crime scene in Ga-Rankuwa.

In separate incident, two ANC members were shot – one died – while driving on Solomon Mahlangu Drive, Mamelodi. The police said the pair were travelling from a voting station in Nellmapius when the incident took place in August.

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

The women were attending an ANC committee meeting to finalise the selection of candidates for the elections when they were killed outside a school in the area north of Durban.

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

ALSO READ: ‘Authorities must act,’ says ANC after recent attacks on party members

Motuang’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.

Mkhize, who was a candidate for ward 101, was killed while he was with another person, who also died.

Other political killings not related to the ANC include the murder of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ward councillor candidate, Thulani Shangase.

Shangase was killed in the KwaCaluza area outside Pietermaritzburg after returning from an EFF campaign meeting in October.

Former ANC KZN deputy chair killed in a hail of bullets