Africa-Press – South-Africa. The growing numbers of political killings should concern the ANC. Rebone Tau asks if the national leadership is not bothered with finding lasting solutions because these murders are happening at local government.
Political killings are a serious problem in South Africa. It is a scourge that has claimed many lives over the years. In fact, this issue has worsened in recent times as corruption and rent-seeking by some has grown.
The assassination industrial complex usually goes into overdrive whenever elections are about to happen in the country.
In recent weeks, Mkhondo in Mpumalanga has become the national capital of political assassinations.
In November 2022, the ANC’s Muzi Manyathi was assassinated, and it is alleged that he was the putative Mayor-in-waiting of Mkhondo Municipality. In January 2023, Sbonelo Mthembu, another ANC councillor, was killed after speaking out against corruption. He became a councillor after the 2021 local government elections.
This must worry ANC members about what kind of membership they have in the party if people lives do not matter and they can easily be murdered. It seems to easy to arrange hitmen in South Africa to deal with political opponents.
Direct links
There is a direct link between political killings and business interests. It is clear that there are cartels and rent-seekers pulling the strings in the shadows at the local government level. These nebulous characters fund campaigns and then ‘clear the way’ for their candidates to get positions so they can pay back those who helped them rise to the top. Also, when these cartels are not able to collect money through tenders, they assassinate those who they see as threats.
This phenomenon is something that should concern the governing party. I reckon that the ANC has been burying its head in the sand and hoping that the problem would go away. Unfortunately, it has not; instead of the killings becoming less, they are growing at a very fast pace. The more the ANC does not deal with corruption, the more people are going to be assassinated. Is the national leadership not bothered with finding lasting solutions because these murders are happening at local government?
There is almost a sense that when one joins politics at local government level, a name is written on a bullet for you. Many wrongdoings are happening in local government and the Auditor General’s annual report gives a sense of just how deep corruption is at this level. It is alleged that the business interests that fund political campaigns view those who are not close to them as a threat.
Free and radical thinkers are likely to be assassinated because they owe nothing to anybody. That’s right, in this day and age, just being an honest politician is a radical thing. Will we one day be in a situation whereby ministers are assassinated because of business interests at national level? That is a good possibility.
The use of money in ANC conferences at all levels has played a huge role in the increase of political killings within the party.
Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy for the ANC to deal with the issue of money that is used for campaigns during internal elections at all levels. The newly elected NEC has a huge task ahead of them and political murders should be high on their list, along other challenges like load shedding.
Moerane report is gathering dust
The Moerane Commission report that focused on political killings in KwaZulu Natal is gathering dust, while it is business as usual for the ANC leadership.
Cartels are winning and the ANC is losing people who are speaking out against corruption.
Take for example the late Sindiso Magaqa, former ANCYL Secretary General, who was gunned and later died after speaking out on the alleged corruption at the Mzimkhulu Municipality.
What is sad is that many families never get closure on who put a hit out on their loved ones. The Magaqa case is still in court and the family don’t get much support from the ANC leadership during the court appearance. It is easy to mobilise members of the ANC to defend individuals but it difficult to support the families when they go to court.
– Rebone Tau is a political Commentator and author of “The Rise and Fall of the ANCYL”. She is also a research fellow of the Institute for Pan-African Thought & Conversation (IPATC). She writes in her personal capacity.
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