A 36-year-old man has been arrested for the murder of an African National Congress (ANC) member, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Thursday.
Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said he was the third person to be arrested in the case and was caught in the Nongoma area on Wednesday.
The South African Press Association (Sapa) has reliably learnt that the suspect is an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) councillor. His name is also known to Sapa.
The IFP confirmed that one of its councillors had been arrested.
But, ”It’s a systematic victimisation of our people by police. The SAPS [South African Police Service] have become the private army of the ANC,” said IFP national organiser Albert Mncwango.
The man is accused of involvement in the killing of ANC member Thulani Khumalo, 44, who was shot and killed at a tuck shop on March 5.
A tuck-shop worker, Mthokozisi Ndwandwe, was shot in the leg during the incident but survived.
Police made their first breakthrough in the case on March 10, when two people were arrested in Ulundi.
Nkosinathi Khumalo and Musa Ndwandwe subsequently appeared in the Nongoma Magistrate’s Court and the case was postponed to March 24.
The two remain in police custody.
The third man who was arrested is expected to appear in the same court on Friday. — Sapa