IFP pours scorn on inquiry

THE IFP has poured scorn on a KwaZuluNatal government announcement that a commission of inquiry would be formed to probe the “underlying causes” of political killings.

“There is nothing impressive as parties will not be informed about the outcome of that commission.

“There are many commissions that were appointed and the problem has been that their outcomes were never made public,” IFP national chairman, Blessed Gwala said.

Gwala made the comment after the provincial executive council (Exco) announced the planned commission after their Wednesday meeting.

The commission was first mooted by the ANC in July after a number of political killings – largely linked to infighting in the party on the eve of the elections.

There had also been killings of people from other parties since early this year.

When the ANC first called for the commission, Premier Willies Mchunu had said he was consulting and seeking advice to avoid duplicating police investigations.

Mchunu said 12 ANC members had been killed, three each from NFP and IFP and two from SACP this year.

But, Gwala said the commission was not impressive at all. “They spend money and not disclose the gist of the investigation,” he said.

While the provincial government had reported it was acting on the findings and recommendations of the inquiry into the deaths of aspirant traffic officers who died in the selection process at a stadium in Pietermaritzburg in 2012, the commission’s report was never made public.

The ANC and SACP could not be reached for comment while NFP acting chairman, Bheki Gumbi, referred questions to provincial leader Vikizitha Mlotshwa, who could not be reached.