Premier shot at after councillor's funeral

North West Premier Edna Molewa and her husband were shot at while returning from a funeral in Rustenburg, according to a media report on Tuesday.

The Star newspaper reported that Molewa and her husband, Richard, were returning from the weekend funeral of slain Rustenburg municipal councillor Moss Phakoe, who was shot dead on March 14.

Since his killing, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) had denied reports of warring factions within the party in the North West.

“We were travelling from Rustenburg to Brits when we saw two men standing on top of the bridge. As our motorcade drove under the bridge my car, which was in front, was fired at several times,” said Molewa.

“We were shocked.

It was so unexpected. A number of shots hit the ground in front of our car. Sparks were flying. It is still hard to understand why this happened.”

Molewa’s security had been beefed up since the incident, reported the Star.

“This is scary. It would have been terrible had any of the bullets hit one of the cars. My driver is still in shock, too. He says he can still smell gunfire. His windscreen was narrowly missed,” said Molewa.

North West Safety and Transport Minister Phenye Vilakazi had formed a task team to investigate the incident.—Sapa