The South African Council of Churches (SACC)‚ calling for peace during the run-up to the August municipal elections‚ has asked its ministers to intervene in communities divided by political divisions. "The ugly scenes we have witnessed in Tshwane are totally out of place in the democratic culture of our country‚ and we condemn this in the strongest possible terms‚" the SACC said in a statement."The SACC is also saddened by the even more deadly phenomenon of political assassinations‚ particularly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It appears that at the core of this is the sin of greed and self-interest advancement by any and all means possible‚ where the value of human life is disregarded."The church leaders said too many lives were lost in South Africa's struggle for democracy‚ and they condemned the resurgence of politically motivated killings."Sinful greed leads to the killings of people who stand in the way of a preferred councillor candidate; and sinful greed leads to the killing of a councillor who is considered to be standing in the way of a corrupt tender deal."Has our country descended to these low levels and becoming a mafia state? Let it not be so!"To anchor our democracy in integrity of processes‚ the SACC requests that local churches intensify prayers and pastoral interventions in communities where peace must be restored‚ to maintain orderly coexistence across political divisions."The SACC also appealed to leaders of all political parties in the run up to the August 3 local government elections to exercise "much prudence and temperance in managing sensitive political situations‚ and to help contain dissent"...