Police have launched a manhunt for three men after the drive-by killing of Zulu prince and ANC branch chairperson Thulani Zulu, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
”There were three men in the car from which the shots were fired, we are looking for these men,” said Captain Vusi Mbatha from Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal, where the murder took place on Wednesday.
He said there was no indication yet that the crime was politically motivated.
The African National Congress also urged the public to remain calm, and not speculate on the motive until the police had completed their investigation.
ANC provincial spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu expressed the party’s ”shock and devastation” at the killing.
He said Prince Zulu had been a stalwart worker for the ANC.
”In the early 90s he was instrumental in clandestinely mobilising for the ANC in the area which was then a no-go area for the movement,” he said.
Zulu was driving two employees home on Wednesday afternoon, when a maroon-coloured Isuzu bakkie drove past, and an gunman fired three shots at the prince, Mbatha said.
Zulu was fatally injured in the head. His two passengers were injured, but not killed.
The bakkie was found shortly afterwards about 10km from the scene of the crime.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said the incident confirms the need for a commission to investigate political violence in the province, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Mbatha appealed to anyone who had witnessed the incident, or had information, to contact the police.
In a statement on Thursday, IFP KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu condemned the killing.
”The IFP is saddened by the killing of Prince Thulani Zulu in Nongoma yesterday [Wednesday]. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
”We know from personal experience the pain that comes with senseless killing,” said Ndlovu.
The IFP has lost a number of senior officials recently in similar assassinations.
Ndlovu said: ”The IFP has buried many victims in Nongoma and elsewhere in the recent past. The family of Prince Thulani Zulu should draw comfort from the quick response from Minister Charles Nqakula in commissioning a special investigation into the death of Prince Zulu.
”While the IFP welcomes the setting up of a special investigation into the death of Prince Zulu we regret that this kind of rapid response only seems to occur when a person aligned to the ANC is killed.
”Whilst the Minister [of Safety and Security] did undertake to investigate IFP concerns tabled in Parliament recently by the president of the IFP, we note however that he has been slow to commission an investigation. We call on the Minister to attach the same value on the lives of IFP and ANC members alike. Please remember Mr Minister that all South Africans deserve your protection and not just the ANC.
”The IFP also calls on those tasked by the minister to investigate the death of Prince Thulani Zulu to start their investigation with the deaths of Sikonde and all other IFP leaders killed in Nongoma.
”The IFP further notes the admission by the minister [Charles Nqukula] that there is a low intensity war going in KwaZulu-Natal. We can only hope that His Majesty the King [Goodwill Zwelithini] was listening and finally accepts the reality that people in KwaZulu-Natal are being killed.” – Sapa