The SA Local Government Association (Salga) has raised concern that councillors were being murdered despite reporting threats to their lives.
This, after Vredenburg ANC councillor Arthur Gqeba, was shot and killed outside his home on Saturday.
Gqeba had arrived home after visiting a friend, when a gunman approached and shot him in the head and chest.
He had reported on several occasions that he received death threats, and he survived two assassination attempts.
His colleague and Vredenburg ANC councillor, Theresa Le Roux-Rossouw, alleged the Saldanha Bay Municipality removed his security detail in December, saying there was no longer a threat to his life.
The municipality declined to comment on Monday.
Salga president, Bheki Stofile, said it was upsetting that Gqeba was killed.
“When a councillor comes to the state with death threats concerns, and the state is unable to provide security for their servants, that is very concerning. Everyone knew there was a threat on the councillor’s life.
“What we are seeing is that the life of a councillor is valueless. We know that out of the 300 and more councillors that are killed, 90% of them report the risk they are facing. When the state security do not act expeditiously to perform a risk assessment, many lives that could have been preserved are lost.
“A councillor is a public representative and an officer of the state. Any attack on the officer of the state is an attack to the state itself and undermines democracy,” he said.
Gqeba family spokesperson, Vivid Mgoqi, said the threats to Gqeba’s life started when he exposed corruption in the municipality.
“He wrote letters to authorities to take action. After that things were not the same. This was even before he was a councillor. The provincial police commissioner indicated to the municipality that he needed protection but they took it away anyway. We do not have the answers on what led to his death. Maybe he had some enemies in his political party, in the municipality or in society.
All we can say is we have questions that need answers after our mourning period,” Mgoqi said.
ANC spokesperson Khalid Sayed said the party condemned attacks on councillors.
“These cases wherein which councillors have been abducted, attacked or killed needs to be investigated and the perpetrators need to be brought to book,” he said.
Political analyst Sipho Seepe said the spate of political violence in politics had to be seen within the context of economics.
“Most of the members have no chance of finding gainful employment beyond being councillors.
“For most this is not about service. It is about putting a meal on the table and a roof over their heads. This results in violent contestation. The situation is not helped by the fact the parties have become intolerant of differing views. The situation has gone out of control in the ruling party,” Seepe said.
Gqeba will be buried in the Eastern Cape next week.
Cape Times