Magaqa’s family believe he was poisoned
THE family of slain former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa has maintained he was poisoned and did not die as a result of injuries sustained during a shooting.
Testifying at the Moerane Commission of Inquiry investigating political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, Sindiso’s cousin, Lwazi Magaqa, said Sindiso was recovering and was due to begin physiotherapy at the time of his death.
“He was shot from the knees down… it still doesn’t make sense that he had stomach aches and died two days later. The wounds were on his legs, not his torso or his body, and we suspect poisoning,” said Lwazi.
Magaqa, a councillor and executive committee member at the Umzimkhulu municipality, was shot in July last year with two other ANC councillors after a community meeting. He died in hospital in September. Lwazi said that Sindiso was under 24-hour police guard at the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital but this, he said, did not rule out foul play.
Lwazi said the family was dealt another blow when two toxicology reports came back with inconclusive findings.
“The first toxicology test had been conducted in Durban and the second in Pretoria.”
He said the family believed that Sindiso was killed for being vocal about corruption and mismanagement of public funds in the multimillion-rand upgrades to the uMzimkhulu Memorial Hall.
“He never mentioned regional politics posing a danger to his life, but after PR councillor Mduduzi Tshibase and municipal speaker Khaya Thobela were killed, Sindiso told the family that he knew he was next,” he said.
Lwazi said the family was not satisfied with the police investigation.
“The BMW which was used by those who shot Sindiso was seen in the area after the attack.”
He said the family had only been updated twice on the investigation since Sindiso’s shooting. Asked about the suspect killed during an attempted cash-in-transit heist who the Hawks believed was linked to the murder of Magaqa, Lwazi said the family was confused as to how the police knew that the person was linked to the murder.
He said Sindiso had been the family’s sole breadwinner. “We were told to bring back the council laptop and cellphone for the family to receive his last salary, but we don’t know where it is,” he said.
The Hawks did not respond to questions yesterday.