IFP calls for probe into murder of KZN councillor

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa has called on police to investigate the motive for the murder of uMlalazi Local Municipality councillor Khethelo Mdluli, including the possibility that it was politically motivated.

The 40-year-old IFP councillor from Gingindlovu on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast succumbed to gunshot wounds at Ngwelezane Hospital on Tuesday after being attacked at his home last week.

Mdluli had served as a PR councillor in the uMlalazi Municipality since 2021 and was a candidate in the upcoming local government elections.

It is alleged that he was shot inside his home in the oPhindweni area last Thursday. Hlengwa is calling for justice.

“The IFP unequivocally condemns this barbaric and senseless killing in the strongest possible terms. There can be no justification whatsoever for the taking of a human life. And there can be no place in our democracy for political violence, intimidation or the assassination of those who have been chosen to serve their communities. The circumstances surrounding councillor Mdluli’s killing are particularly disturbing. He was a serving public representative and a candidate in the upcoming local government elections.”