Tensions are high as contestation in the 2024 general elections intensify. In the latest incident, two MK party members were shot and killed in Katlehong on Sunday night allegedly by ANC members.
It’s not clear what was sparked the incident but Gauteng police said it is believed there was an argument between the rival groups leading to the fatal shooting.
“It is reported that two members from uMkhonto we Sizwe were shot and killed during a dispute with members affiliated with the African National Congress at Thwala Section in Katlehong North. One victim died on the scene while the other was declared dead on arrival at a hospital. One firearm and a knife were recovered on the scene, said provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili.
Muridili said a suspect believed to be responsible for the shooting has already been arrested and was expected to appear in court on Tuesday. Meanwhile the MK which has been engaged in a back and forth with the IEC has slammed the commission for allowing the party’s now expelled founder Jabulani Khumalo to attend the launch of the National Results Operation Centre at Ghallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.
MK is seeking an explanation from the IEC and has threatened legal action. In a statement released by spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela, the MK expresses suspicion that Khumalo was getting preferential treatment from the IEC and is somewhat close to the commission.
“Despite clear judicial and organizational resolutions confirming Mr. Khumalo’s expulsion from the party and resignation from leadership, which the IEC itself confirmed his presence at the ROC, contradicts these well-established facts and raises significant questions about the adherence to protocol and the objectives of IEC in this matter.
“We have raised serious concerns in previous statements regarding Jabulani Khumalo’s disturbingly close relationships and proximity to senior officials at
the IEC, and this can only be a further confirmation that our assertions and intelligence reports were solid in fact,” reads the statement.
While Khumalo claimed to have attended the event as a leader of MK, the IEC at the time told Newsnote that he was there as an ordinary person and that the public was allowed to visit the national Results Operation Center, a position reiterated at a media briefing on Monday.
“Mr Khumalo was there as an ordinary member of society and the ROC is a public facility which South Africans can visit at anytime subject to certain conditions including the number of people that are inside as there’s a limit,” said IEC Commissioner Mawethu Mosery. He expressed the IEC’s frustration at having to deal with MK.
“We comment reluctantly because we don’t want to be speaking all the time because of one party when there’s 72 odd parties on the ballot. The IEC also singled out MK accusing the Jacob Zuma led party of spreading misinformation about alleged vote rigging and of interference after its representatives stormed what the commission said was a storage for ballot papers alleging that they had been placed at the home of an individual.
“We have reported the matter to the police in our next briefing we will be able to explain what action we will take,” said Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Shiburi.
Meanwhile former EFF Limpopo chairperson Jossey Buthane who has been arrested in connection with a shooting incident that left one person incident at Juju Ville outside Polokwane where groups from the two parties engaged in a territorial tussle. The ANC is yet to comment on both incidents.