An ANC ward councillor has been arrested in connection with the murder of two party members before last year's local government elections.

The ANC in the eThekwini region on Monday said it had noted reports of the arrest of the councillor and other suspects.

“This is in connection with the murder of comrade Siyabonga Mkhize and comrade Mzukisi Nyanga in Cato Crest last year, November,” said the region's spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize.

It's believed that the arrested councillor had replaced Siyabonga Mkhize as a candidate after he was killed.

“While we understand and accept the principle of natural justice, that a person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise, we, however, call for justice for our fallen comrades. We stand with the families of our fallen comrades and we want to see justice.

“Our freedom is threatened each time a member of the community is murdered or robbed. It is for these reasons we implore law enforcement agencies to be firm and act decisively to continue to root out rogue elements behind the killing of leaders and innocent members of society in our region,” said Mlondi Mkhize.

Members of the community must work with the police and isolate criminals.

“We will be watching this case closely up until its final stages. Importantly, we want to assure the community affected by the absence of the councillor, who is in custody, that the ANC will deploy a PR councillor to service the community.

“When the people of eThekwini went to the polls they voted for services such as water, electricity, housing, road infrastructure, jobs and access to economic opportunities. We will never let them down.”

The ANC called on its volunteers to mobilise communities to stand up against crime.

“We must intensify the fight against crime in all its manifestations — from the unacceptable level of murders, assaults, robberies, hijackings to domestic violence. The culture of impunity should not be tolerated in this region,” he said.

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