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Political violence has hit a crisis point in KZN, according to the Chairperson of the Select Committee on CoGTA. This follows yet another senseless assassination in the province.
China Dodovu, the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Water and Sanitation, believes that political killings in KwaZulu-Natal have reached crisis proportions and that a multifaceted approach is required to put an end to them.
“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,” Dodovu stresses.
Minenhle Mkhize, ANC eThekwini ward 103 councillor, was shot dead outside his home on Saturday evening, 22 January 2022.
The 39-year-old Ward Councillor was returning home from a football game in the area in the early evening when he was gunned down in his car.
Cllr Reginald Ndima, the Speaker of the Amajuba District Municipality, was assassinated at his Ncandu Park home in the early hours of Saturday, 29 January 2022.
According to police sources, Cllr Ndima was shot by unknown assailants while closing the gate after parking his car in the garage.
The gunshots reportedly woke up his wife and children, who dashed outside. They discovered Cllr Ndima in the driveway and rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Concerning the two murders, Dodovu emphasises that the first step in combating the killings is an effective investigation and eventual prosecution of perpetrators and instigators.
He claims that in order for this to happen, the South African Police Service must strengthen its intelligence-gathering apparatus in order to detect planned killings before they occur.
Secondly, Dodovu emphasises that the Moerane Commission heard evidence that some of those cases were founded on flagrant grounds to conceal and perpetuate corrupt tendencies within the local government sector. As a result, the fight against corruption must be strengthened and intensified.
“The society should invest its energies in exposing corruption to ensure that corrupt elements who have the temerity to kill in the sector are removed,” Dodovu reiterated.
Furthermore, he emphasised the importance of effective political education in order to end the deepening culture of intolerance, violence, and killings in KZN.
“This worrying culture of violence requires continuous and concerted effort to end it. It is unacceptable that people are killed with such impunity,” Dodovu added.
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The billboards were there before new administration take over. Who complained and why now?