Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
ANC MP and senior member of the royal family Prince Zebulon Zulu was shot and seriously injured as he left a rally in Nongoma yesterday.
Zulu, and two other passengers in a car, were shot at by unknown assailants as they left an ANC election rally yesterday. The other two people in the car with him were also seriously injured.
Four other people were reported injured in political violence in northern KwaZulu-Natal this weekend and cars and buses were allegedly damaged.
The ANC and the IFP held almost simultaneous rallies three kilometres apart in Nongoma. Both had been scheduled in Mona, but the ANC decided to change the venue at the 11th hour to avoid confrontation between its members and IFP supporters.
Their efforts were in vain. IFP members brought Nongoma to a standstill as they marched through the town and blockaded the main road. Many were armed with traditional weapons and knobkerries.
IFP members stopped buses carrying ANC supporters and forced some passengers out of buses and beat them in full view of the 540 police officers who had been deployed to the town to keep the two sides apart.
MEC for community safety and liaison Bheki Cele intervened to calm the situation before it could erupt into full-scale violence. An IFP member allegedly fired shots at the buses while police were pelted with stones before they moved in with stun grenades and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
"IFP people were very troublesome in the morning. The situation was sick until I intervened," said Cele. He said buses with ANC supporters were stopped and four people were injured when they were pelted with stones. The ANC blasted the IFP for the situation.
But IFP national organiser Albert Mncwango defended his members. He denied they were protesting or blockading the road. He said they were merely staging an election blitz around the town.
The rallies took place after Mantobela Ngcobo, deputy chairman of the ANC's Prince Mageza branch, was shot inside the party's office. He is being treated at Ngwelezane Hospital.
zulu prince shot at rally
Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
ANC MP and senior member of the royal family Prince Zebulon Zulu was shot and seriously injured as he left a rally in Nongoma yesterday.
Zulu, and two other passengers in a car, were shot at by unknown assailants as they left an ANC election rally yesterday. The other two people in the car with him were also seriously injured.
Four other people were reported injured in political violence in northern KwaZulu-Natal this weekend and cars and buses were allegedly damaged.
The ANC and the IFP held almost simultaneous rallies three kilometres apart in Nongoma. Both had been scheduled in Mona, but the ANC decided to change the venue at the 11th hour to avoid confrontation between its members and IFP supporters.
Their efforts were in vain. IFP members brought Nongoma to a standstill as they marched through the town and blockaded the main road. Many were armed with traditional weapons and knobkerries.
IFP members stopped buses carrying ANC supporters and forced some passengers out of buses and beat them in full view of the 540 police officers who had been deployed to the town to keep the two sides apart.
MEC for community safety and liaison Bheki Cele intervened to calm the situation before it could erupt into full-scale violence. An IFP member allegedly fired shots at the buses while police were pelted with stones before they moved in with stun grenades and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
"IFP people were very troublesome in the morning. The situation was sick until I intervened," said Cele. He said buses with ANC supporters were stopped and four people were injured when they were pelted with stones. The ANC blasted the IFP for the situation.
But IFP national organiser Albert Mncwango defended his members. He denied they were protesting or blockading the road. He said they were merely staging an election blitz around the town.
The rallies took place after Mantobela Ngcobo, deputy chairman of the ANC's Prince Mageza branch, was shot inside the party's office. He is being treated at Ngwelezane Hospital.