The Inkatha Freedom Party has called on communities in KwaZulu-Natal to stand up and play a vital role in protecting their public representatives‚ especially municipal councillors.

This follows the killing of another Richmond Ward councillor‚ Sfiso Mkhize‚ who died in a hail of bullets on Thursday evening while on his way home.

“It is high time now that community members break their silence about the scourge of killings of public representatives. It doesn’t matter which party the public representative belongs to but all of them need protection‚” said the IFP’s provincial spokesperson on cooperative governance and traditional affairs Princess Phumzile Buthelezi.

ALSO READ:'SA would be in a better state had it become a Federal Republic': Buthelezi

“Community members must now be open about what they know when it comes to the killing of councillors. They must tell the police who own illegal guns that are out there to kill people. In order to improve public safety‚ we need to do more to ensure smart and effective enforcement of our gun laws and make sure that criminals and other prohibited persons cannot get their hands on lost or stolen weapons.

“Gun violence has taken a heart-breaking toll on too many communities across the country. We call for an increase in gun control measures to prevent the flood of guns into KwaZulu-Natal. KwaZulu-Natal is bleeding and it’s our citizens who are affected the most‚” said Buthelezi.