'Security crisis' in KZN

2003-12-15 11:42

Durban - The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal expressed dismay and shock at the murder of councillor Richard Gagasi Mthembu who was shot dead in his car in Mandeni township on KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast on Sunday.

In a statement on Monday, ANC spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu said Mthembu was a member of the ANC KwaDukuza regional executive committee and chairperson of the ANC's Ingonyama branch.

Mthembu was the fourth ANC leader to be murdered in KwaZulu-Natal recently, Mthimkhulu said.

"On December 12, Thami Bhengu was shot dead at the gate of his home in Eshowe, northern KwaZulu-Natal. His death came on the heels of the murder of ANC councillor Mzikayifani Mbhele who was ambushed outside Nkandla town on December 5."

Another councillor, Bongani Yimba, was shot dead at a bus stop in Obanjeni near Mthunzini on November 26, after surviving a murder attempt in October.

Mthimkhulu said Yimba was murdered after being accused by a local chief of mobilising ANC supporters in the area and harbouring ANC leaders at his home.

And councillor Themba Zuma was shot dead on his way home from a meeting in Nadi, Greytown on November 2.

There had also been a number of threats on the lives of ANC leaders at regional and provincial levels ahead of the 2004 elections, Mthimkhulu said.

"The ANC therefore calls on the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, to urgently intervene in the impending security crisis in KwaZulu-Natal as it is clear that this is a systematic way of eliminating ANC leaders ahead of the third democratic elections next year."

Mthimkhulu said the ANC wished to place on record that the killings would not deter it from garnering support in the province.

"It is the ANC's growing popularity, especially in the rural areas, that is triggering this intimidation and these sporadic killings," he said.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

- SAPA