The shooting of former ANCYL secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa and other attacks, including killings in the Umzimkhulu region of KwaZulu-Natal were carried out by paid-for hitmen and can be traced to the Glebelands Hostel, TimesLive reported on Tuesday.
An expert witness at the Moerane Commission of Inquiry, investigating political killings in KZN, told the commission that large amounts of money had been paid to carry out killings in the area. The expert, Vanessa Burger, is from the Independent Community Activist and Social Justice advocacy group.
Burger reportedly said she regarded the attempt on Magaqa's life as one of these hits.
Magaqa and two colleagues, all councillors at the local municipality, were attacked by gunmen last week.
This followed the death of ANC regional deputy secretary and Umzimkhulu municipal speaker, Khaya Thobela, who was gunned down on April 20. Harry Gwala District municipal councillor Khaya Mgcwaba was the next to be gunned down, and another Harry Gwala councillor, Mduduzi Tshivase, was killed on May 23.
"The hitman was paid and he is still in Umzimkhulu. The three that were shot in Umzimkhulu [between April and last week] were killed by the same hitman‚" she said.
Burger reportedly said a murder usually followed a large collection of cash. She said she had learnt that a large sum was recently paid to a hitman who was now carrying out shootings in Umzimkhulu.
She said that hitmen in the Glebelands hostel were using guns for hire, who had been hired to carry out political killings, too. Many murders on the KZN South Coast and the Eastern Cape could be traced to the Glebelands hitmen, she reportedly said.