Police vow to bring Magaqa’s killers to book

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has condemned the political killings in KwaZulu-Natal and called on the communities to provide the police with information – preferably before a crime is committed so that decisive action can be taken.

All these killings must come to an end. We condemn in the strongest terms the use of violence as a way of settling differences between our people. It has always been a held view by the majority of our people that only dialogue can resolve our differences, not violence or confrontation, said Minister Mbalula on Tuesday.

His call comes following the death of former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa.

Magaqa was ambushed by unknown gunmen in July in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal, along with two other ANC councillors while returning from a meeting. He succumbed to his wounds in hospital last night.

Minister Fikile Mbalula sent his condolences to the Magaqa family and the African National Congress.

Magaqa belonged to that restless generation of young people, who were impatient with the economic marginalization of young people and intolerant of unemployment, poverty and inequality that visited many young black people in our country.

The Minister also reassured South Africans that the police will do everything in their power to bring perpetrators to book.

Already police and the leadership of KwaZulu-Natal have hosted a number of interventions to try and resolve the tensions of political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.

Among others is the deployment of the members of the Public Order Policing Unit, the Tactical Response Team, the National Intervention Unit and Visible Policing in the province.

There is also the integrated Provincial Project Task Team, which consists of the Hawks, the Detective Service, Crime Intelligence, the Local Criminal Record Centre and the National Prosecuting Authority which was established in May to deal with political killings.

In addition to this, the provincial government established the Moerane Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate all political related killings in the province.

While in many of these cases, the investigations have been completed or they are ready for trial and bail has been successfully opposed, some work still needs to be done on other cases, the Minister said.

However, to overcome tensions and subsequent killings, Minister Mbalula said there is a need for tolerance and community participation cannot be overemphasized.

We are urging people to assist the police with information, preferably before a crime is committed so that decisive action can be taken.

Political activists must take this advice from one of the greatest revolutionaries, Ernesto Che Guevara, that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Recent Posts