/ 16 August 2008

One dead in shooting after ANC election rally

One person was shot dead as African National Congress (ANC) supporters left an election launch rally in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

One person was shot dead as African National Congress (ANC) supporters left an election launch rally in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

The shooting took place about 500m from the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, next to a bus that had transported ANC supporters from Pietermaritzburg.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Danelia Veldhuizen said it was not immediately clear whether the shooting was politically motivated. She said the man was shot in the head.

The bus, parked on an island on the Mangosuthu Buthelezi highway, was waiting to take passengers back to Pietermaritzburg.

Bus driver Andreas Matsupa said that he been had standing outside the bus, talking to people and telling his passengers to board, when he heard shots fired and saw the man fall to the ground.

”He was my passenger. I brought him here from ‘Maritzburg and I was waiting for him,” said Matsupa.

He said he did not see who fired the gun and could not remember how many shots were fired, but added that there was a bullet hole near the bus’s foot pedals.

Immediately after the shooting, police descended on the area and cordoned it off, with a police helicopter circling overhead.

The shooting took place adjacent to T-section in Umlazi.

The stadium had been packed with about 10 000 ANC supporters as well as the top provincial ANC leadership for the 2009 election launch. — Sapa