Prominent mayor on 'hit-lists'

The family of Lassy Chiwayo, Mbombela (Nelspruit) Local Municipality mayor, wants him to quit politics because his name apparently tops three reported hit-lists that could be targeting whistleblowers The Mail & Guardian has been told that first list contains the names of 20 people who should be "shot and poisoned", the second names 10 people who should be "shot", while the third names six who should be "poisoned".

The lists are said to be circulating in Mpumalanga. "Obviously, your family will be concerned if your name is rumoured to be on a hit-list, especially taking into consideration that some of the people also alleged to be on the list have already been killed," Chiwayo said this week. "My family has asked me to reconsider my position in politics and to return to private business. I am worried about my children because I can't protect them 24 hours a day."

But he is not about to resign as mayor. "I joined politics at the age of 13 -- I came home one day wearing an Azapo T-shirt and my mom beat me. I didn't give up and I'm not about to do so now," he said. Before being deployed as ANC mayor, Chiwayo was a businessman involved in the Gautrain project. He said he had "no doubt" that some murders and the hit-lists were related to tenders and politics in the province. "I know for a fact that [former Mbombela speaker] Jimmy Mohlala was killed for being vocal about the 2010 Mbombela stadium tender irregularities," he said.

Mohlala was shot and killed outside his house in KaNyamazane on January 4 this year, a week before he was to testify about dismissed municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions and his role in alleged tender irregularities linked to the Mbombela stadium. Mohlala also wanted fraud charges to be laid against the project managers, Lefika Emerging Equity.

The murder this year of senior government communicator Sammy Mphatlanyane could also be tender related. A police source said that Mphatlanyane's death outside his Nelspruit house on January 8 could have been linked to his refusal to award a R20-million tender from the provincial department of culture, sport and recreation to a friend of a prominent ANC leader in the province. Mphatlanyane was deputy director of communications in the ­department.

Mphatlanyane and Mohlala's names were on the 20-people hit-list, which was the first to surface. Chiwayo said the police should "leave no stone unturned" in tracking down the killers. "If the mastermind is within the ANC or holds a high position in the government, law enforcement should be even harsher," he said.

The name of Nelspruit service-station owner Thabo Theledi also appears on the lists. The police source said he was supposed to have been killed on Wednesday last week, but the killer had "chickened out". Theledi said he had no idea why his name should be on a hit-list. "I left politics a long time ago and I was just an ordinary ANC member. The last time I renewed my ANC membership was five years ago and I've been running my business solo."

Provincial police spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the police are still investigating the origin and credibility of the hit-lists. "It's possible that someone may have sent us a fake list just to derail and confuse the police in their investigation," Nkosi said. She said a number of people had been questioned about the two murders, but they had been released for lack of evidence.

Source: Mail & Guardian