ANC member ambushed in KZN
2004-03-13 17:53
Pietermaritzburg - A member of the African National Congress party was killed on Friday when a vehicle he was travelling in was ambushed in the Umsinga area in KwaZulu-Natal, police reported on Saturday.
Superintendent Vish Naidoo said Lucas Khumalo and a woman colleague were on their way home after putting up ANC posters in Pomeroy when the shooting took place at 19:00. Khumalo was killed instantly and the woman escaped unscathed.
ANC provincial spokesman Bheki Cele confirmed Khumalo had been putting up election posters and distributing pamphlets. He said the incident was due to political violence in the area.
He said Khumalo and a team of ANC activists had been campaigning with ANC MP Mike Tarr.
"Tarr has also expressed outrage at the act and called for strong measures to be taken to stamp out intimidation and political intolerance that is rife at Umsinga," Cele also said.
Forces of darkness
"It is now clear that forces of darkness have declared war on the ANC and they want to plunge the province back to political violence," said Cele.
He said: "These elements are acting in desperation because they can see the groundswell support tilting the scale in favour of the ANC."
Cele blamed the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) for the killing and said the IFP was not prepared to meet with the ANC.
"Our numerous calls for joint peace meetings with IFP leadership to go and explain the electoral code of conduct to grassroots members in strife-torn areas have up to now fallen on deaf ears," he added.
IFP MP Albert Mncwango also condemned the killing but denied the allegations saying it was irresponsible for the ANC to link this killing to his party.
"It is irresponsible for anyone to jump to conclusions before the police could establish what the motive was because that will not help in bringing about peaceful elections in the province," he said.
"We all know that Umsinga is the area where faction fights have been rife for hundreds of years," Mncwango also said.
- SAPA