Africa-Press – South-Africa. A DA Zululand district councillor investigating corruption at a municipality in the region, survived an attempt on his life on Thursday, with the party charging that it was an intimidation tactic to scare him off.
DA councillor Swelakhe Shelembe was driving in Vryheid, along with a municipality assigned bodyguard, when his vehicle was shot at multiple times.
Shelembe and the bodyguard survived the shooting and were currently in a safe house. Five bullets penetrated his vehicle, the DA said on Friday.
Though no evidence for the motive of the shooting had been determined yet, the DA in KwaZulu-Natal believed it was politically motivated because of Shelembe’s work.
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The party called on the police to act swiftly.
The Zululand District Municipality, which includes several municipalities, is governed by the IFP.
Shelembe was chairing a multi-party ethics committee in the Abaqulusi municipality, which falls under Zululand.
The committee was said to be probing allegations of corruption and irregular expenditure by the mayor, speaker and deputy mayor.
The mayor in Abaqulusi is Mncedisi Maphisa. The accusations of corruption stem from the expenditure of over a million rand for the hiring of a vehicle and security for the mayor.
The expenditure was seen as irregular, with the municipality questioning it.
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DA leader Francois Rodgers said the party condemned the shooting and alleged a link between the incident and Shelembe’s committee work.
“It is clear to the DA that this terrible act against Cllr. Shelembe was the work of powerful politicians and officials who wished to silence him and strike fear into councillors to protect themselves.
Rodgers said:
A source told News24 that the report, which was to be presented to the council next week, would find against the mayor.
KZN DA member and MP Dean McPherson said the DA believed the purpose of the attack was to intimidate Shelembe and other councillors.
“We believe this was an intimidation tactic for all the councillors as the report was set to be presented next week,” McPherson said.
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