133 days since Richmond Municipal Manager was murdered and still no arrests

17 July 2017

Today marks 133 days since the Richmond Municipal Manager, Sibusiso Sithole, was assassinated outside the local police station after being lured out of his office.

It was no secret that Mr Sithole was a crusader against corruption in the municipality. He supported the DA’s objection to KZN MEC for Co-operative Governance, Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s manoeuvres to appoint more full-time councillors in the cash strapped municipality.

Clearly, his push for clean governance did not sit well within factions in the ANC which ultimately led to his untimely death.

Of serious concern to Richmond residents is that, 133 days since his murder, there has not been a single arrest nor any further information or update on the investigation. It is highly suspicious that a person is gunned down outside a police station and there are no witnesses to account for what happened and no arrests have been made.

Worse still, Mr Sithole’s assassination is not part of the Premiers Commission of Enquiry into political killings in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This has only heightened the anxiety of those who would want to see justice done and the perpetrators held to account for this heinous act.

Since Mr Sithole’s death, the Deputy Mayor and a local ANC ward councillor have been murdered. It is hardly surprising that the assassinations are worsening because warring ANC factions in Richmond appear to be getting away with murder until the South African Police Services (SAPS) act accordingly to catch the perpetrators responsible .

The Democratic Alliance is calling on the police to expedite its investigation into Mr Sithole’s murder and ensure that the perpetrators face the full might of the law. Anything less will only worsen the suffering of his family who want closure.

Issued by Dean Macpherson, DA UMgungundlovu East Constituency Head, 17 July 2017