KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested two suspected hitmen, just hours after they allegedly shot and killed Phendukani Mabhida, a ward councillor in the Mandeni Local Municipality.
The 40-year-old was gunned down and his 42-year-old sister was injured during the incident on Tuesday evening, 4 February.
ALLEGED SUSPECTS BEHIND MURDER OF ANC COUNCILLOR ARRESTED
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Colonel Robert Netshiunda said officers who are members of Public Order Policing were doing their routine patrols in Sundumbili when they spotted two suspicious men walking along the street.
Netshiunda said the vigilant police officers stopped and searched the men and the two were found in possession of two firearms whose serial numbers were filed off.
“The suspects were arrested and charged for possession of unlicensed firearms. Further investigations by the Political Task Team positively linked the two to the murder of the councillor and the attempted murder of his sister.
“Reports indicate that earlier that evening, the two suspects went to the councillor’s home and requested to see him. When the councillor got out of the house, the two opened fire at him. His sister intervened but she was also shot. The two victims were rushed to a local health facility where the councillor was certified dead on arrival,” he explained.
In addition, police confirmed that the two suspects are positively linked with the murder of an induna who was shot and killed in Sundumbili on 25 January 2025.
The suspects, aged 31 and 34, will appear in the Nyoni Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 7 February.
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