We'll get you — KZN premier warns criminals behind political murders

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has sent a message to criminals targeting public officials, traditional leaders and communities that their “days are numbered”.

The warning was issued by KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube during a multisectoral stakeholder engagement in Durban to discuss collaborative crime fighting and prevention strategies in the province. 

Dube said the growing number of assassinations was of great concern, citing the latest murder of an ANC councillor in Msunduzi municipality, Mabhungu Mkhize,45.

Mkhize was shot in Imbali Unit 14 on Friday afternoon.

KZN police arrested two people there hours after the murder.

“We are really concerned about the level of violence in our provinces, in particular assassination of a public representative. A message to criminals is that their days are numbered. Councillor Mkhize was killed in cold blood,” said Dube-Ncube. “Since the beginning of the current term of local government, we have seen 19 councillors killed. That demonstrates that the levels of crime are high in the province. We have also seen assassinations and murders of community and traditional leaders, which is very disturbing,” she added.

According to the province, the engagement forms part of the government's proactive plans to strengthen collaborative crime-fighting initiatives and strategies with the view to grow a safer and prosperous province.

 The provincial government said law enforcement entities, voluntary community crime-fighting structures, and private security companies have begun cultivating a partnership towards the realisation of building a united front against crime.

 Other pertinent issues discussed include the implementation plans for resolutions of the recently concluded community policing summit, provincial crime prevention strategies to address crime issues after the release of the first-quarter crime statistics, and improved collaboration between government and business against crime.

Dube-Ncube said it was important to strengthen co-operation among governments, police, private entities and businesses.

“If we can combine the capacity of SAPS, private security companies, community safety structures, and other structures, criminals should be suffocating. But we all let the criminals loose because we are not working together. These are some of the decisions that we have taken to ensure that we deal with crime. Criminals should not have an inch to hide in our areas,” he said. 

Dube-Ncube said the province has been engaging the minister of police, Bheki Cele, to restore public trust in the police.