ANC welcomes killer Youth League leader's sentence

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal welcomed the jail term handed down to an ANC Youth League leader who pleaded guilty to murder.

"The ANC welcomes today's sentence as a breakthrough in the fight against the killing of political leaders in our province," provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said on Tuesday.

Sifiso Khumalo, 31, was sentenced to 22 years for the murder of Dumisani Malunga in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

On Monday National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson said Khumalo pleaded guilty to the murder of Malunga.

Malunga, 42, and Bheki Chiliza, 39, were shot dead while driving home from an ANC meeting on September 9.

Khumalo and Samuel Cele were arrested last Monday, barely a day after the shooting.

According to a statement by Khumalo for his guilty plea, he and his co-accused Cele had arranged for a hitman to kill Malunga.

However, unbeknown to him and Cele, the assassin had come across both Malunga and Chiliza at the same time and opted to kill them both.

Cele would appear in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court for a bail application on Wednesday.

Chiliza was the Oshabeni branch secretary and Malunga was branch chairman.

Ramkisson said Khumalo did not reveal how much the assassin -- who is believed to still be at large -- was paid.

Zikalala said the ANC expected a harsher and tougher sentence which would act as a deterrent to others with the same motive.

"We are confident that the investigating officer and the NPA will work hard in order to secure a life sentence [for] Cele," he said.