Lip service won’t stop killings

Political killings continue unabated and no one seems to have a clue how to stop the scourge. It is mostly prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal, but definitely not limited to that province.

Every time a life of a politically active individual is taken, often through the barrel of a gun, political parties and elected public officials fall over themselves trying to be the first to condemn the killing.

Soon thereafter they make a beeline for the deceased’s home, where they pass their condolences. Some go as far as pledging to support the family financially in future.

The same kind of messaging is repeated on the day of the funeral where, depending on the public profile of the deceased, a minister or two takes to the stage promising that the might of the law would come down hard on the perpetrators.

Thereafter there is seldom any arrest. Ditto the prosecution and conviction of the culprits. Life goes on as if the murder never took place.

And we wonder why the killings won’t stop?

How can they when the hired guns know that, for them, this is a low risk and yet high-paying business?

Their clients too are not deterred because they know that even in those instances where the shooters are arrested, the politicians; tenderpreneurs and public officials who hired them are seldom convicted, if at all.

Political leaders and “violence monitors” alike would have us believe that the problem is merely a political one that can be resolved through reconciling the various competing factions, especially within the ANC.

But the truth of the matter is that what we are dealing with is politically linked gangsterism at the root of which is the desire by criminal elements to capture various levels of the state in order to enrich themselves.

No amount of “political engagement” or “political education” will stop this thuggery.

The only real solution is for the police to do their jobs without fear or favour and to target their investigations not just on those who pull the trigger, but also the political figures behind the murders. Unless this is done, greedy politicians will turn this country into killing fields.