Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has been challenged to respond publicly to the allegations of a hit list targeting those who may have evidence of corruption surrounding the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Local newspaper the Lowvelder claims the list, titled Operation Clean Up 2014, was faxed to it on Monday from a busy internet cafe after weeks of debate over whether it existed.
On it are reportedly 10 names, including those of two victims — Mbombela municipal speaker Jimmy Mohlala, murdered on January 4 last year; and sports, arts and culture spokesperson Sammy Mpatlanyane, shot dead on January 8 this year.
The other eight names include Mbombela mayor Lassy Chiwayo, who confirmed receiving death threats on his cellphone at about the time of Mohlala’s murder; journalist Alfred Moselakgomo; politician Steven Ngubeni; lobbyist Godfrey Ntombela; and businessman Thabo Theledi. The list includes only one journalist, whereas initial rumours claimed it listed four newspapermen, including the Sunday World‘s Mzilikazi wa Africa and the Mail & Guardian‘s Lucky Sindane. This has raised suspicions about the authenticity of the list.
The newspaper reported that it had forwarded the list to the police.
Congress of the People member of the provincial legislature Zale Madonsela said the premier’s silence on the matter was creating suspicion.
There have been allegations of moves within the ANC to have him recalled as premier.
‘In a province filled with tension and fear, amid allegations of murder plots, the premier’s silence speaks volumes,” Madonsela said this week.
She noted that the ANC-South African Communist Party-Cosatu alliance had initially disputed that Mohlala’s assassination was politically motivated.
‘No amount of spin doctoring can remove the suspicion of the masses, except for the premier [who must] pronounce on what he knows,” said Madonsela.
On Sunday the Sunday Times reported that a self-confessed hit man had claimed to have been invited to a senior ANC leader’s farm and hired to kill whistleblowers on the alleged hit list.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Paul Mbenyane said the allegations of an ANC member’s involvement in crafting the alleged hit list and funding the executions did not mean the party was behind the plot.
‘The ANC does not kill. Any person … found to be involved in any criminal activities such as murder … cannot be a member of the ANC, no matter what position they [are] holding,” Mbenyane said this week.
A member found guilty of a crime such as murder in a court of law would automatically lose their membership of the organisation.
The premier’s spokesperson, Mabutho Sithole, said the allegations were a ‘pure fabrication of lies” to defame Mabuza and the provincial government, and undermine service delivery.
Sithole said the only plot was one in which Mpumalanga journalists were being used to discredit the premier.
‘The dubious agenda is probably intended to ultimately influence that the premier be recalled. We thus challenge anyone with proof to bring it to the appropriate law enforcement agencies,” he said.
The law enforcement agencies are no closer to solving the murders. Despite a R100 000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Mohlala’s killers, no one has been arrested.
Mohlala’s death came a week before he was due to testify in the disciplinary hearing of former municipal manager Jacob Dladla, who had been accused of financial mismanagement of the Mbombela World Cup Stadium project. Dladla was since dismissed by the municipality.
Police also have no suspects in the murder of Mpatlanyane, who was shot in his bedroom in Nelspruit on January 8 this year, allegedly for refusing to be part of a R20-million deal linked to the 2010 tender and a prominent ANC leader.
Spokesperson for the provincial department of community safety, security and liaison Joseph Mabuza finally admitted on Thursday that the department had received the alleged hit list from a local internet shop in Nelspruit.
‘We have sent a copy to the police to form part of the investigations being conducted pertaining to the list. MEC Sibongile Manana takes the existence of the hit list seriously and that is the reason she requested the office of the provincial commissioner to speed up the investigations,” Mabuza said in a statement.
Superintendent Sibongile Nkosi, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga police, confirmed that police were investigating ‘the existence of the hit list”. — African Eye News Service