Council official shot dead

A SENIOR Alfred Duma (Ladysmith) Local Municipality employee was gunned down in an ambush on Thursday morning.

Oscar Hlatshwayo, the executive director of engineering and infrastructure services, had just dropped off his two children at school when he was caught in a hail of bullets.

A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said Hlatshwayo was driving his blue Jaguar SUV down Francis Road when he was ambushed.

“There were five cars between his and mine. As he drove past the KFC, just a few metres from the robots at the intersection, gunshots rang out. He lost control and he did not stop at the intersection and collided with a minibus taxi. The gunmen were not in a car as there was no visible one which could have been used as a getaway,” said the witness.

Municipal spokesperson Siya Maphalala said Hlatshwayo had worked for the municipality for about 15 years.

“At this stage, it is not clear what the motive for the killing could be but we will issue a statement once we have more details on the matter.”