KZN municipal manager's 'hitmen' appear in court

Two men accused of orchestrating the murder of a municipal manager in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, have made their first appearance in court.

The pair, who cannot yet be named, made a brief appearance in the Richmond’s Magistrate Court amid heightened security on Monday.

They were nabbed in a police swoop at the weekend, the latest in a string of arrests of men with supposed links to political deaths.

Sibusiso Sithole, the administrator of a town once ravaged by political violence, was gunned down near his office in March last year. He had been ambushed and shot dead by two men while he was opening the door of his car in the Midlands town.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that the men were remanded in custody and would apply for bail at their next appearance.

MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube welcomed the arrests.

"We hope this will bring us closer to the truth about the murder of the municipal manager.  Our hope remains in the hands of law enforcement agencies to bring to book all those who tarnish the image of our province by murdering municipal officials," she said.

"The perpetrators of this heinous crime that tore apart the community of Richmond must be brought to justice and we hope this will now happen without further delay."