Political Killings

There has been a brief respite in political killings in the province related to the internecine strife within the ANC. It is unlikely that things will remain so, and it is equally unlikely that the Moerane Commission of Inquiry’s report into these killings will deliver a usable verdict.
None of this is to say that all is quiet. It is important to pay attention to another persistent target, and that is the Durban shack-dweller movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo. It claimed last week that its president, S’bu Zikode, is “in grave danger” and that an attempt had been made on his life

While it is not clear whether this claim has any substance, history suggests that it is likely that Zikode would be a target.

By Abahlali’s reckoning, 10 of its members have been assassinated over the years.
There have been convictions. In one case a police officer was jailed for killing a 17-year-old protester.

In another, two ANC ward councillors, Mduduzi Ngcobo and Velile Lutsheko, were jailed for the murder of KwaNdengezi branch chairperson Thuli Ndlovu.

Last month, Abahlali’s chairperson in eKukhanyeni in Mariannhill, S’fiso Ngcobo, was assassinated.

The organisation’s concerns were further increased when the ANC chief whip in the eThekwini Municipality accused Zikode of being “hell-bent” on rendering eThekwini ungovernable, and reportedly said Abahlali would be “dealt with”.

The eThekwini Municipality has a record of brutal attacks on the organisation, and for corruptly doling out tenders to well-connected partners in crime. Zikode has been one of those calling out these dealings, saying that “the city has been taken over by gangsters”.

The ANC’s provincial chairperson, Sihle Zikalala, tried to gull the Moerane Commission into viewing political killings as part of a “broader societal problem”. The beef between the ANC and Abahlali is not a societal problem. It is political, and it is creating casualties. It has to stop.