KZN municipal official gunned down ahead of new council term

A senior Nongoma municipal official was shot dead outside his home on Tuesday afternoon.

Preliminary police investigations have revealed that Zweli Duma‚ 40‚ who worked as an internal audit manager at the Nongoma municipality‚ was shot several times and died instantly outside his home in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

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KwaZulu-Natal community safety MEC Mxolisi Kaunda on Wednesday described the incident‚ which came shortly before the inauguration of new municipalities in the province‚ as “shocking”.

• Cops probe 30 instances of political violence linked to electionsThere have been a number of murders of political party members and councillor candidates ahead of this year's municipal election‚ with the African National Congress being the worst-hit. 

“This comes as a blot on what has been otherwise peaceful elections in KwaZulu-Natal and his untimely death is a setback to the municipality as he possessed the most critical skills needed by this government. We have directed the police to work around the clock to ensure that perpetrators of this crime are brought to book soon‚” said Kaunda.

Kaunda‚ who was due to be fully briefed by the police management in Nongoma on Wednesday morning about this incident‚ has expressed his deepest condolences to the Duma family.

The Nongoma municipality was won by the Inkatha Freedom Party by 53% in the recent local government elections.