Anti-mining activist killed in ‘blue light’ hit

23 March 2016 - 10:34 By TMG Digital

A community group opposed to mining on the “ancestral land of Amadiba on the Wild Coast” said its leader was killed by hit men claiming to be police officers on Tuesday night.“We are shocked to tell the public that the chairman of (the) Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC)‚ Sikhosiphi Bazooka Rhadebe‚ from Mdatya village in Amadiba‚ was brutally assassinated tonight outside his house in Lurholweni township‚” a statement said.“He died defending his young son‚ who witnessed the murder. His son and his wife are now in hospital.“Our beloved Bazooka made the ultimate sacrifice defending our ancestral land of Amadiba on the Wild Coast.”The statement said the “hit men came in a white Polo with a rotating blue lamp on the roof” at about 7.30 on Tuesday night.“Two men knocked at the door saying they were the police. Rhadebe was shot with eight bullets in the head.”Tensions between factions for and against dune mining in the area have become increasingly violent. The ACC was formed to oppose the project.“After one year of threats and attacks‚ we have been waiting for something like this to happen‚” the committee’s statement said.“The Amadiba coastal community will not be intimidated into submission.”When contacted by TMG Digital‚ Eastern Cape police said they would comment at a later stage...

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