Number of officials in danger increases

The threatening and killing of municipal managers and financial officials have become prevalent with several incidents reported in the media this year alone.

Here are some of the cases:

• On October 2, Nkangala municipal manager Maggie Skosana and her driver Gugu Mtsweni were kidnapped outside the district municipal offices in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. The pair was held captive for a week and after a long search by authorities were found in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, after their kidnappers had left them in the bushes. 
• In September, uMlalazi local municipality communications manager Reginald Bongani Ngema was gunned down in eShowe in full view of community members. The day before his shooting, the bodyguard of King Cetshwayo District Municipality’s municipal manager was also shot and killed.
• In March, acting municipal manager at Mamusa local municipality in North West, Mercy Phetla, received death threats after discovering corruption and irregularities in payments just a few weeks after taking up the CFO position in April last year. This forced her to send her daughter to live with relatives in Mpumalanga.

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za