Paul Kirk and Jaspreet Kindra
The mayor of KwaNongoma, who was slain this week, had been running a protection racket in which he and his associates allegedly beat residents of the KwaZulu- Natal town if they did not pay him R50 a month.
The assassination of mayor Bhekuyise Sikhonde, an Inkatha Freedom Party strongman, instantly became a political football, with the IFP suggesting the hit was masterminded by the African National Congress.
While the IFP was quick to point out that seven of its members have been killed in the area since April, KwaNongoma police say six ANC members have also been killed in the area – two allegedly by Sikhonde.
But it has now emerged that Sikhonde may have been shot dead for reasons that have nothing to do with politics at all. And a brief look into his past tells the tale of a man who died as he lived – by the sword.
Sikhonde was first arrested for a crime of violence in 1993 when he allegedly killed a senior official from the KwaGqikazi Teachers’ Training College in his area. He was, however, found not guilty and released.
Last year he was arrested in connection with the killing of ANC supporter “Commander” Ngcobo. When he was murdered this week he was out on bail for the Ngcobo killing, and under investigation for a series of brutal assaults and kidnappings.
Residents of KwaNongoma say Sikhonde’s most recent enterprise involved using his former self-defence unit members to “shake down” residents for money.
According to one resident, Sikhonde’s men fenced off the small suburb of Redhill and began demanding that all residents pay them for the “security service” they were provided. Failure to pay resulted in a severe beating.
Of late, several residents of the suburb had apparently refused to pay – one businessman phoned the Mail & Guardian to boast how he had overpowered one of Sikhonde’s associates last month and charged him with assault after dragging him to the police station.
Roger Burrows, provincial chair of the Democratic Party in KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed he was approached by a resident of KwaNongoma who was looking for protection from Sikhonde. The resident had compiled a three-page dossier on Sikhonde’s activities.
A senior official from the ANC in Durban said his party was also aware of Sikhonde’s activities, but said: “We do not want to get involved in this ugly scene, but it is quite likely that Sikhonde was killed because of his thuggery more than anything else.”
The provincial head of the police detective service in KwaZulu-Natal, Director Pat Brown, has taken over the investigation personally. He has a team of 11 detectives assisting him. One suspected killer, Simiso Mahlambi (19), is in hospital with severe burns, another two are in jail and another is still on the loose.
Even if Sikhonde’s murder turns out to have been apolitical, there are signs that politically motivated violence is on the rise in the province in the run-up to the local government elections. It appears the ANC is anxious to move into IFP strongholds – even if it means breaking the stability that has accompanied the ANC’s highly successful efforts to co-opt the IFP.
Independent violence monitor Mary de Haas warned this week: “There is a general climate of fear in the rural areas with a real potential of the tension exacerbating into a low-intensity war.
“The word is out that people should not cast their votes as the chiefs are unhappy about the new local government demarcation.”
The ANC’s Senzo Mchunu admits that in the past 18 months the violence has become politicised as the ANC moved into IFP-controlled areas. “There is a high degree of political intolerance.” Last month, the ANC opened an office in Nongoma for the first time.
After the killing of popular IFP Zululand regional councillor Themba Ntshangase earlier this year, the IFP accused the ANC of using a hit squad to eliminate its councillors in a bid to take control of the area.