Political violence claims the life of BOSA candidate Leon Ngcikwe
Community leader Buli Madikane , Mother of Leon Joyce Ngcikwe and Max Nqunqa. Build One South Africa (BOSA) ward candidate Leon Ngcikwe was fatally shot in Gugulethu. He was ambushed and shot after dropping off activists in the area and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ ANA STudios
The last time Build One South Africa (BOSA) Gugulethu ward candidate Leon Ngcikwe’s family saw him alive was when he came back home from a registration drive to drop off his daughter, leaving again to drop off the rest of his colleagues.
Later that Saturday evening, Ngcikwe’s mother Joyce said they received a call telling them to go to hospital as Ngcikwe had been shot. Ngcikwe later died of his injuries.
The killing of two ward committee candidates in Cape Town and a councillor in Gqeberha over the weekend has intensified concerns over a resurgence of political violence as South Africa heads towards the local government election season.
Leon Ngcikwe
Image: Supplied
Father of two and neighbourhood watch member, Ngcikwe, aged 37, was shot dead in Gugulethu while returning home after participating in a voter registration drive.
Ngcikwe's murder came just hours after the assassination of DA ward candidate Sinovuyo Dyokwe, who was ambushed in Dunoon as she walked home.
Gqeberha councillor Sicelo Mvele was also gunned down after armed suspects stormed his ward office in Zwide during a meeting.
At the family's Gugulethu home on Tuesday, Ngcikwe's wife, Tembisa, was too distraught to speak.
Joyce Ngcikwe told the Cape Times that the family was trying to come to terms with the tragedy.
"We are all in shock. His youngest daughter doesn't really understand what is happening. She asked me, 'Did you take a picture of him?' when we came back from the hospital. His older daughter has taken it very hard. She ran outside crying yesterday."
She described her son as a humble, community-minded man.
"This was completely unexpected because he was a friendly, humble person. We are a church-going family and he lived by those values. Everyone here loved him."
She said Saturday had begun like any other day.
"He woke up, went to the registration drive and came back around midday to drop off his younger daughter, who had gone with him. He told us he would return after dropping off the rest of his colleagues. Later that evening we received a call telling us to go to the hospital.
"I knew there was a possibility he hadn't survived because nobody would tell me what had happened or let me see him. They took me into a small room and told me he had died.”
Joyce said her son had joined BOSA because he wanted to improve conditions in his community.
"He had big dreams. When he joined BOSA I wasn't surprised. I encouraged him because he genuinely wanted to make a difference. He was a people person. From then on there were always people coming to the house because he was completely committed to serving the community."
Western Cape police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said a 21-year-old man who was with Ngcikwe sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.
"Police members were called to the crime scene and, upon arrival, found that the victims had already been transported to a medical facility in a private vehicle. Upon arrival at the hospital, members were informed that the 37-year-old man had been declared dead."
No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
BOSA member and community activist Buli Madikane dismissed suggestions that Ngcikwe had been killed during a robbery, saying there had been attempts by rival political parties to recruit him before his death.
"He was still active in the neighbourhood watch. He wasn't shot because someone wanted to rob him. Nobody would rob Leon in NY6. Everyone knew him.
"Talking about robbery distracts from the possibility that this was a political killing.”
"He hadn't been with the party for long, but ... he had already built one of our strongest voting districts."
BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons said the country could no longer normalise politically linked violence.
"Every day, communities across our country are torn apart by violent crime, leaving families shattered and neighbourhoods living in fear. Leon's death is a painful reminder of the devastating human cost of a crime crisis that has been allowed to spiral out of control.”
Addressing the media on Tuesday, acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said four people had been killed over the weekend in incidents linked to politics.
Cachalia said the government had been correct to retain and expand the Political Killings Task Team, warning that organised crime appeared to be driving much of the violence.
"I think we took the right decision by keeping the Political Killings Task Team and expanding its mandate in Gauteng. The long-term organisational response from SAPS remains an open question. To me, what we are dealing with is organised crime. I don't think we have a simple answer to this problem and, in the run-up to the elections, there is a real risk of more killings. This is something the police should be paying specific attention to."
Cape Times
