Political hit suspected after councillor shot dead on KZN South Coast

It’s still not known what the motive was for the murder of ANC eThekwini Ward 99 councillor Mnqobi Victor Molife, who was gunned down near Margate, on the KZN South Coast, on Sunday night.

Police say Molife was with his partner in Mvutshini, inland from Margate, when three armed people forced their way into a room he was in and shot him dead. His partner was unharmed in the attack and the shooters left without taking anything, leading to suspicion that it was a political hit.

KZN police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker, said: “The victim was shot and fatally wounded. The suspects fled the scene without taking anything. The victim’s partner was unharmed during the shooting. The motive for the killing is unknown at this stage. A case of murder was opened at the Margate police station for investigation.”

‘Threats’

The ANC said that although it is too early to declare this a political killing, it was aware Molife had complained that people were threatening to kill him.

The ANC said assessments conducted after he had reported these threats had concluded he was in no imminent danger and he was not provided with extra security.

Before the November 2021 local government poll, Molife won a highly contested leadership battle, warding off three ANC leaders who also wanted to stand as the party’s councillor candidate in the elections.

ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said the party was angered and saddened by the continued killing of councillors and other leaders.

“The brutality and violent manner in which Councillor Molife’s life has been taken … cannot be easily erased from our minds. It is even worse for the members of the family, especially the kids and the wife.

“We are aware that Councillor Molife had reported to the party, to the council and the police that his life had been under threat. It is a pity and very sad that the threat assessment done after these threats revealed that he was not in serious danger.”

Mtolo said it was too early to say whether Molife’s killing was a political or criminal act.

Recent killings

“A week ago, an IFP councillor [Siyanda Magubane of Ward 11] was shot dead in Msinga. A number of ANC councillors and other leaders, and those of other parties, have been killed recently in KZN. It is possible that they were killed because of the positions they hold. But we are also concerned about violent crime in our society,” he said.

eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said: “We are appealing to law enforcement that they expedite the process of investigations.”

Mary de Haas, a KZN peace monitor, said Molife: “won a bruising battle to become ANC councillor, beating three other contenders. His killing can be seen as having been committed by people who want by-elections so that they can get their hands on the coveted councillor position.”

De Haas said a similar scenario had played out in eThekwini’s Ward 102 where ANC councillor and candidate Siyabonga Mkhize and his bodyguard were killed just days before the November 2021 local government elections. He won the ward posthumously. A by-election was held in March in which Mzi Ngiba stood as the ANC councillor and won the ward.

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A few weeks after the by-election, Ngiba and two alleged hitmen were arrested and are now standing trial for murdering Mkhize and his bodyguard.

In January, Minenhle Mkhize, the ANC councillor in eThekwini’s Ward 103, was gunned down in his home in Cliffdale, near Hillcrest.

Sihle Zikalala, the KZN MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, said his department was concerned about the murders of councillors in the province.

“The pain and loss that we continue to suffer as a province in the hands of criminals that are hellbent on weakening the sphere of local government has reached epic proportions. We call upon law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their quest to apprehend the terrorists responsible for these acts of treason.

“The attacks on our councillors should be viewed as a crime against the state and the people of South Africa. The sphere of local government within our province will not succumb to the will of the forces of evil who seek to destabilise it,” Zikalala said. DM