Culture of killing, says Mchunu
AN UPSURGE in political violence in KwaZulu-Natal since 2011, leading to at least 20 deaths in 2016, is the main reason for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to probe political violence in the province, Premier Willies Mchunu said yesterday.
Political violence was not new but had recently “become a culture”, he said at a press conference in Durban.
“Political violence in KwaZuluNatal did not start yesterday.” Mchunu referred to the violence that racked the province in the 1980s and 1990s and pointed out that it had receded. The split of the National Freedom Party from the Inkatha Freedom Party in 2011 had marked the start of a growing trend of political killings, be they inter-party or within the same political party.
“There is nothing we are leaving out. Intra-party killings and interparty killings. We are including them all,” Mchunu said.
Following the political violence that preceded the local government elections earlier this year, numerous calls were made for a commission of inquiry, especially from within the ranks of the ANC.
When Mchunu initially announced in August that a commission would be established, opposition parties criticised the move, believing that most killings involved internal fighting within the ANC-led alliance.
However, Mchunu said all killings would be investigated, irrespective of the political party involved. He formally announced the commission in the provincial legislature last week.
At the press conference yesterday, he said the commission’s role was not to usurp the powers of the police, but to complement them, determine the causes and find a solution to the trend of political violence in the province.
The four-man commission, headed by advocate Marumo Moerane, is expected to sit for a year and cost about R15 million.
Mchunu said that if necessary, the commission would sit longer.