Senior Tshwane ANC sources have made a shocking allegation that at least 30% of councillors in the metro are thugs who work with criminals to the detriment of their communities.
These allegations follow the killing of ANC ward‑10 councillor Thabang Masemola in Mamelodi, who was shot dead at his local spaza shop on Tuesday.
According to police spokesperson Marinda Austin, Masemola had recently purchased a new vehicle. At the time he was showing it off to a friend.
Austin said they stopped to “buy food in Malapana Street and to speak to another friend”.
“During their conversation, an unknown male wearing a jacket with a hoodie approached the victim, produced a firearm, and without any warning, fired several shots.”
The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle.
Sunday World learnt that former regional secretary and now task team coordinator George Matjila was first to express worry that party councillors were embedded with criminals.
According to a source, Masemola was feared in the community, even by ANC branch members, “because he was quick to resort to violence”.
“We warned him in an ANC caucus meeting. I remember the secretary giving a lesson about how criminals operate. ‘You work with criminals, and at some point, they will expose you or kill you.’ People in his community are relieved [that he is gone] because he was a thug.
“This was not a political killing – councillors are contracted to criminals, and the mistake they make is trying to cheat criminals. It’s about those contracts; that’s the truth.”
“Unfortunately, he might not be the last one [killed]. There are a lot of them. Around 30% of our councillors are doing these things: they work with criminals.”
Another ANC source in Tshwane said community members visited Masemola’s ward on Tuesday to celebrate. “That boy was a thug and was no longer a councillor. He was in the middle of that thing of Boko Haram.’”
The source added that the behaviour of ANC councillors sends the wrong message, “it makes the party look like an organisation at war with itself”.
The source said all members know the real reason the party is struggling for support in Tshwane, which is expected to go into a conference next month.
ANC Tshwane caucus leader Joel Kgomotso Masilela Ka Mahlangu said that Matjila, as party administrative head, spoke about the dangers of associating with criminals from time to time.
He said that Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise also stated that no councillor should be in office if they cannot uphold the norms of their political role.
“Our conduct must align with the expectations of the very communities we serve. Councillors should be able to identify and distance themselves from individuals with questionable character,” the source claimed Modise said.
He added that there are various allegations against Masemola, “so police should be allowed to handle the matter”.
An ANC colleague of Masemola said, though they couldn’t recall the exact date Matjila’s warning was made, he was adamant the regional leadership had just been alerted that some councillors in Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa were involved in shady dealings, and one had been assassinated.
The councillor was coy to speak about Masemola directly, citing that there were no verifiable facts that he was involved in crime. “To be honest, he was the first councillor to be shot dead in Mamelodi,” they said.
Matjila said he would not comment on internal matters, and at any rate, it was the provincial leadership that was dealing with those problems.
Modise had not responded to calls at the time of going to print.
Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, two ANC councillors were murdered within two weeks between May and June.
A highly placed source in the ANC Greater Johannesburg region said there were rumours that councillors were being killed over tender-related issues, but that this may not be the only reason.
