KwaZulu-Natal has become the assassination capital of democratic South Africa, with more than 150 politicians shot dead since 2011. The overwhelming majority of these killings are linked to ANC internal power struggles — disputes over council seats, tender access, and factional control.
The statistics are staggering. Of the 52 councillors murdered since 2011, 31 were ANC members, 14 were IFP, 4 were NFP, 2 were EFF, and 1 was ACDP. A further 103 political office bearers and municipal officials were killed. The total number of politically motivated assassinations exceeds 150.
The killings follow a clear pattern. Ahead of ANC nomination conferences and local government elections (particularly 2016 and 2021), candidates are eliminated by rivals who hire professional hitmen. The murders spiked sharply between 2012 and 2017, and again around the 2021 elections.
The hit squads are professional. Convicted hitmen include Mfanafuthi Zulu (sentenced to 10 years for killing ANC member Bongani Mhlongo) and Kingdom Phoswa (sentenced to 18 years for killing ANC Ward Councillor Njabulo Dlamini). But these convictions represent a tiny fraction of the total killings. The conviction rate for political assassinations remains extremely low.
The root causes identified by researchers include: lack of provincial ANC leadership, battles for control of municipal resources (especially tenders), internal ANC factions using violence rather than democratic processes, and the near-total absence of consequences for instigators.
In 2024, Mpumalanga established a Special Unit to investigate political killings in that province, suggesting the phenomenon has spread beyond KZN. But in KZN itself, where the problem is oldest and deadliest, comprehensive accountability remains elusive.
These are not random acts of violence. They are the logical consequence of a system where control of a municipality means control of billions in tenders, and where internal party democracy has broken down to such an extent that assassination is cheaper and more effective than winning a nomination vote.