By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed sadness at the revelation that senior ANC leaders and municipal officials played a central role in the killing of former ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa.
Sibusiso Ncengwa on Monday told the Pietermaritzburg High Court that he formed part of the group that carried out the murder.
Ncengwa is currently on trial for the case with Mlu (Mlungisi) Ncalane, Sibonelo Myeza, and Mbulelo Mpofana.
Magaqa was shot execution-style in KZN’s Umzimkhulu in July 2017.
In his admission of guilt, Ncengwa implicated the late Mluleki Ndobe, the former mayor of the Harry Gwala district municipality, who later became the deputy speaker in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
Ndobe committed suicide in November 2020 at his home in Umzimkhulu. The others have not pleaded guilty.
He also implicated a former senior official in the Umzimkhulu municipality, where Magaqa exposed corruption and the runners involved in facilitating the hit.
The National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu-Natal has confirmed that Ncengwa has pleaded guilty in the matter.
“The court found Ncengwa guilty based on his admission and convicted him accordingly. The court remanded the case against Ncengwa to June 30 for sentencing.”
Ramaphosa, in his capacity as ANC President, bemoaned the revelations of the accused, who has pled guilty to the murder of Magaqa.
“It’s very sad to be hearing revelations like these, we are very saddened and obviously as an organisation, as the ANC, we’ve got a lot of introspection to do and that will be done and will be dealt with in due time.”
More than 300 cases have been investigated since July 2018 by the multidisciplinary police task team investigating political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, including 155 murders.
Most murder cases reported after the 2016 and 2021 elections were associated with infighting in structures and municipalities over positions.