Africa-Press – Zambia. A fatal shooting during an anti-drug operation in the Windsor area of Johannesburg over the weekend has ignited a political controversy, with ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Cllr Xolani Khumalo, at the centre of the storm.
ActionSA confirmed on 9 February 2026 that a Nigerian national suspected of drug trafficking was shot during the operation, in which Khumalo participated.
In a press statement, Khumalo said the party supports “every decisive and lawful measure to dismantle this scourge and confront the violent resistance of criminals who have grown comfortable believing they are untouchable.”
He added that ActionSA’s 10-Point Action Plan to Fix Ekurhuleni prioritises law enforcement and safety, including specialised units, crime-mapping technology, and reskilling of Community Policing Forums to combat lawlessness.
However, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have condemned both the shooting and its political use. EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo described the approach as “shallow and irresponsible Trump-style politics” and said, “The attempts to weaponise fear and anxiety through rhetoric is not working, they are now killing suspects as a political campaign, and pointing to South Africans, asking you to cheer.”
Tambo criticised the use of extra-judicial killings as a measure of political commitment, stating, “The measure of a political party’s commitment to fight crime will now be how many dead bodies of criminals your Mayoral Candidate can show the electorate?” He warned that such tactics set a dangerous precedent, suggesting that electoral success is being equated with violent outcomes rather than governance and policy.
The EFF also highlighted how ActionSA previously leveraged the death of DJ Warras in Johannesburg to launch a campaign, asserting that the party is now repeating the pattern in Ekurhuleni. “ActionSA is proposing that for a political party to show its commitment against crime, you must show us how many dead bodies of criminals you can produce,” Tambo said.
Supporters of Khumalo argue that his involvement in anti-drug operations demonst
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