Police investigating claims Sindiso Magaqa was poisoned

KwaZulu-Natal police are reportedly investigating allegations that former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa, who died on Monday night at Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban, could have been poisoned.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi on Tuesday confirmed the priority crimes unit was looking into rumours that the ANC councillor from Umzimkhulu in southern KZN could have been poisoned.

“We have heard that [he was poisoned]‚ of course‚ so we have to do a postmortem. We will only know for sure after that,” he told TimesLIVE.

Mulaudzi said the Hawks were now prioritising the postmortem because of the rumour.

“We’re still trying to ascertain what transpired‚ whether it was because of his injuries. There’s a lot we’re still looking at. We don’t want to make unnecessary pronouncements. What I can say is that a murder case has been opened linked to the shooting [in July].”

Magaqa, 35, was rushed to hospital on July 13 after he was shot and wounded along with two other ANC councillors in what is thought to be an ambush by unknown gunmen.

He was well-known as the secretary-general of the ANCYL before it was disbanded in 2012 after its leadership, under then league president Julius Malema, was found guilty of bringing the ANC into disrepute.

Magaqa’s death on Monday night after a month in hospital, where he was recovering from gunshot wounds, has sent shockwaves across the political spectrum amid the ongoing Moerane Commission of Inquiry into the spate of political killings in KZN.

The Hawks earlier told EWN Magaqa’s passing was a serious setback for the unit because he was one of the key witnesses in their investigation into political killings in the province.

“I do not want to divulge anything because we’ve received very sensitive information,” Mulaudzi said, adding the unit hoped for a breakthrough before the end of the week.

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