Johannesburg – As the countdown to the much-anticipated 2021 municipal elections, independent candidates in volatile areas have raised fears of being assassinated by their political rivals.
On Friday, ANC councillor candidate under eThekwini municipality’s ward 101 Siyabonga Mkhize was ambushed and killed in Catocrest.
Mkhize had been on a campaign trail when he met his death.
Mthetheleli Sibisi, an independent candidate in eThekwini’s metro ward 103, told Sunday World that he had approached a private security company for protection.
“We are competing with desperate people who have no other options. Being a councillor to them is a matter of life and death. The killing of a ward committee member whom I worked with closely in August gave me a wake-up call,” he explained.
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He said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) should hatch a strategy to provide independent candidates with protection on an interim basis.
More than 1 700 independent candidates have been registered by the IEC nationwide. A bigger chunk of these candidates is in KwaZulu-Natal, with more than 50 standing for elections in the eThekwini metro alone.
“Unlike political parties, we rely on our own limited funds and resources for protection.”
Sibisi is an SACP member and the party’s former eThekwini regional secretary, who in 2016, during the heightened tensions between the ANC and SACP over the nomination process, was nominated by the community. He subsequently clinched the ward, which was previously under the ANC.
Buoyed by the community’s confidence in his candidature, Sibisi is seeking a second term.
The deadly political climate in the province saw three women shot dead during an ANC meeting in Inanda last month, where a councillor candidate was to be nominated.
Another independent candidate, Lumkile Mankayi in Enoch Mgijima local municipality in the Eastern Cape, echoed Sibisi’s sentiments.
“Political intolerance is rife and whenever I campaign, I always face threats from my former comrades. The reason I left the ANC was because of the brazen corruption, which I had long fought against. I made enemies in the process. The community nominated me because they believe I can make a difference,” said Mankayi.
Mankayi said he relied on friends for protection.
Independent candidates believe that the communities will be better served when the local government sphere is depoliticised and professionals who are apolitical are recruited in key positions in municipalities.
Emfuleni municipality in Gauteng is one council where independent candidates are expected to have a good run.
The municipality, which was placed in administration by Gauteng Cogta MEC Lebogang Maile, has been confronted by never-ending service delivery challenges. At the heart of the misgovernance was financial mismanagement and allegations of endemic corruption.
Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, a University of the Western Cape-based academic and political analyst, said though independent candidates were true voices of the people, they would still rely on bigger parties.
“They will shift the direction of political parties and strongholds. But even if independent candidates win seats in council, their success in terms of delivering on their promises relies on them collaborating with other political parties.”
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