Johannesburg – The arrest of an ANC branch leader in KwaZulu-Natal, suspected of being a feared assassin, is believed to be a breakthrough that will assist law enforcement agencies in unlocking the mystery behind political assassinations that have engulfed the province in recent months.
Thulani Shozi, commonly referred to as “Holly Man” in political circles, is a branch secretary in the eThekwini municipality’s ward seven covering the eNtshongweni area near Mpumalanga township.
For months, Shozi managed to outsmart the police, but his luck ran out when the Hawks swooped on him last month.
He was subsequently linked to the assassination of two eThekwini metro cops who were ambushed by hitmen who sprayed them with bullets last July.
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Sunday World understands that this case has now been handed over to the national police task team investigating politically linked killings.
Simphiwe Mhlongo, Hawks spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed that the case is now a subject of a special police task team investigating the assassination of political leaders in the province.
“The docket has been transferred to the national police task team investigating politically linked murders because we have reason to believe that the accused might be linked to other high-profile political cases in the province. Further investigations will be able to shed more light on this,” said Mhlongo.
Shozi is believed to have hatched the assassination of inspectors Ndumiso Thusi and Lindokuhle Madonsela.
He is accused of soliciting three other hitmen to assist him in carrying out the assassination.
The deceased were sitting inside a vehicle in Mpumalanga township when they were killed by the assailants armed with R5 rifles.
They died on the scene. Madonsela is a former ANC Youth League leader. Before his killing, he was the coordinator of an ANC eThekwini region lobby group campaigning for Thabani Nyawose to become chairperson in the upcoming regional elective conference.
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Nyawose is squaring off with fierce rival Zandile Gumede who is seeking reelection.
Sunday World has also established that lawyer Bulelani Mazomba has been roped in to provide legal assistance to Shozi. Mazomba is part of Gumede’s legal team in her fraud and corruption case relating to a multimillion- rand Durban solid waste tender during her tenure as eThekwini mayor.
A police insider who is not allowed to speak to the media said another hitman, who is accused of hiring the guns used in the murder and was one of the killers, had been arrested while in a hideout in Muden near Greytown in the KwaZulu- Natal midlands.
“The accused will appear in court on March 19 when other charges will be added on the indictment including murders,” said the source.
Last year, about 11 politicians were assassinated in KwaZulu- Natal and the cases remain unsolved.
This year, three politicians were gunned down. The victims include councillors and those occupying leadership positions in ANC branches.
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