SACP members and residents of volatile Inchanga‚ west of Durban‚ have been urged to defend themselves amid fears of further violence in the area over the Christmas period.
“We are afraid of the repetition of the KwaShobashobane Christmas massacre‚” said a local SACP leader‚ in reference to the December 25 Christmas bloodbath between the IFP and the ANC in 1995.
Matthews Ndlovu‚ the SACP’s KwaZulu-Natal first deputy provincial secretary said the visit on Friday by the party’s second national deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila was to preach a message of peace.
“He stressed that security issues shouldn’t be left with police and other law enforcement agencies.
“The people of Inchanga should mobilise and say enough is enough. How many friends‚ comrades and innocent lives are we going to continue burying?” said Ndlovu.
Mapaila visited the families of slain SACP members in Inchanga before attending the funeral of Mzamo Mzimela.
The party which has been at loggerheads with its alliance partner‚ the ANC‚ alleged earlier this week that a hit squad was prowling Inchanga‚ picking off local residents and that the police were looking the other way‚ or possibly even participating in the killings.
The party’s provincial leadership met with its branches in the affected area in Pinetown on Monday to discuss the assassinations. On Tuesday it released a hard-hitting statement on the conclusions it had drawn from the meeting.
“There is no doubt that a hit squad is now in operation in [Inchanga]‚” the SACP said‚ citing the shooting last week of the Shozi brothers‚ Ndumiso‚ 27 and Thobani‚ 25.
“On the same night a body of an SACP female activist‚ Nonhlanhla Mkhize‚ was discovered with a gunshot wound in front of the home of a prominent ANC leader in the region of eThekwini.”
The latest killings follow that of SACP member Nontsikelelo Blose‚ 40‚ and the ANC’s Xolani Ngcobo‚ 38‚ who were killed 24 hours apart in August.
Previous killings in Inchanga include those of the SACP’s Phillip Dlamini‚ 68‚ and Bongani Hlatshwayo‚ 38‚ both killed in January‚ and Siyabonga Ngubo‚ 38‚ who was killed in May.
“Subsequent to those killings there had been other killings of two SACP members‚ Lungisani Mchunu and Mzimela‚ from different areas of [Inchanga]. There was another killing of a community member‚ Zazi Mthembu‚” the party said.
“There had been other attempts of assassination of which some are in hospitals and others managed to escape.”
It said there appeared to be a reluctance on the part of the ANC provincial leadership to tackle the conflict in the area which it said stemmed from the nomination of coucillors for the local government elections.
There was also serious concern about the “factional” role of the police‚ particularly the Metro Police‚ which many locals viewed as a “private army of certain individuals” in the area.
The meeting resolved to task the provincial leadership of the SACP to call an urgent meeting with the Premier‚ Commissioner of Police‚ and the MEC of Transport‚ Community Safety and Liaison in the province to address its concerns. — TMG Digital/The Times
SACP urges Inchanga members to arm themselves amid fears of another Shobashobane Christmas massacre
SACP members and residents of volatile Inchanga‚ west of Durban‚ have been urged to defend themselves amid fears of further violence in the area over the Christmas period.
“We are afraid of the repetition of the KwaShobashobane Christmas massacre‚” said a local SACP leader‚ in reference to the December 25 Christmas bloodbath between the IFP and the ANC in 1995.
Matthews Ndlovu‚ the SACP’s KwaZulu-Natal first deputy provincial secretary said the visit on Friday by the party’s second national deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila was to preach a message of peace.
“He stressed that security issues shouldn’t be left with police and other law enforcement agencies.
“The people of Inchanga should mobilise and say enough is enough. How many friends‚ comrades and innocent lives are we going to continue burying?” said Ndlovu.
Mapaila visited the families of slain SACP members in Inchanga before attending the funeral of Mzamo Mzimela.
The party which has been at loggerheads with its alliance partner‚ the ANC‚ alleged earlier this week that a hit squad was prowling Inchanga‚ picking off local residents and that the police were looking the other way‚ or possibly even participating in the killings.
The party’s provincial leadership met with its branches in the affected area in Pinetown on Monday to discuss the assassinations. On Tuesday it released a hard-hitting statement on the conclusions it had drawn from the meeting.
“There is no doubt that a hit squad is now in operation in [Inchanga]‚” the SACP said‚ citing the shooting last week of the Shozi brothers‚ Ndumiso‚ 27 and Thobani‚ 25.
“On the same night a body of an SACP female activist‚ Nonhlanhla Mkhize‚ was discovered with a gunshot wound in front of the home of a prominent ANC leader in the region of eThekwini.”
The latest killings follow that of SACP member Nontsikelelo Blose‚ 40‚ and the ANC’s Xolani Ngcobo‚ 38‚ who were killed 24 hours apart in August.
Previous killings in Inchanga include those of the SACP’s Phillip Dlamini‚ 68‚ and Bongani Hlatshwayo‚ 38‚ both killed in January‚ and Siyabonga Ngubo‚ 38‚ who was killed in May.
“Subsequent to those killings there had been other killings of two SACP members‚ Lungisani Mchunu and Mzimela‚ from different areas of [Inchanga]. There was another killing of a community member‚ Zazi Mthembu‚” the party said.
“There had been other attempts of assassination of which some are in hospitals and others managed to escape.”
It said there appeared to be a reluctance on the part of the ANC provincial leadership to tackle the conflict in the area which it said stemmed from the nomination of coucillors for the local government elections.
There was also serious concern about the “factional” role of the police‚ particularly the Metro Police‚ which many locals viewed as a “private army of certain individuals” in the area.
The meeting resolved to task the provincial leadership of the SACP to call an urgent meeting with the Premier‚ Commissioner of Police‚ and the MEC of Transport‚ Community Safety and Liaison in the province to address its concerns. — TMG Digital/The Times
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos