'Only a high-level intervention can stop political killings in KZN ahead of Local Government Elections'

19 July 2016

The ANC in KZN is raising alarm bells in response to what appears to be a deliberate and well-orchestrated campaign to cull the party’s candidates for councillors ahead of the upcoming local government elections scheduled to take place on 3 August 2016.

Several ANC candidates for councillors have been shot during the past few weeks and many others have received death threats. All killings appear to have been executed by well-trained operatives whose re-emergence in KZN harks back to the political violence of the 1980s and 1990s.

The ANC in KZN has repeatedly condemned these killings and warned about the risk of plunging the province into chaos and instability ahead of an important election.

“As the ANC we are concerned about the slow progress in apprehending the perpetrators and in identifying the dark forces that apparently stand behind this carnage”, said ANC Provincial Secretary Super Zuma.

“The time has come for the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry into these killings and the ANC in the province is calling upon KZN Premier Willies Mchunu to consider establishing such a commission with immediate effect. The ANC is also calling for an urgent meeting with the provincial and national ministers of safety and security to deal with these killings” added Zuma.

The ANC is committed to free and fair elections and the events in question are an obvious hindrance in this respect. KwaZulu–Natal as a province needs economic growth and sustainable development and neither of these can be achieved in an atmosphere marked by politically-motivated killings on the eve of local government elections. We are committed, determined and driven by hope that the mighty African National Congress working with the people of KwaZulu-Natal will prevail over these difficult moments. This is a moment for decisive leadership.

Issued by Mdumiseni Ntuli, ANC Provincial Spokesperson, 19 July 2016