Mpumalanga leaders under fire: Councillor’s home shot up in alleged warning
The councillor was at home with his family when the shooting was carried out on May 31.
The councillor for Ward 24, Mandla Siboza, believes the shooting at his house in the early hours of Saturday, May 31 could have been a warning attempt for his involvement in various projects at Mthethomusha Nature Reserve.
Siboza and his family were awakened by gunshots just after 02:00. “The gunmen shot through the garage door and hit my Ford Ranger that was parked inside. Windows were shattered and walls were damaged. I am sure this is a kind of a warning to scare me away from the projects,” he said. No arrests have been made.
Siboza told Mpumalanga News he is actively involved in various projects at the nature reserve adjacent to the township, and that a certain group of people want things to be done their way. He said one of the projects is the construction of ponds to supply the animals with drinking water.
“We held several meetings in which I requested that the projects benefit the local communities. This must not only concern labour. Our people must be appointed as subcontractors in these initiatives. Unfortunately, certain people do not see things this way and would like operations to be done their way, which is apparently what put us at loggerheads,” said Siboza.
ALSO READ: Man fatally shot in early morning White River incident
I am working for the people and it cannot be that what has to benefit the people now has to be controlled through the barrel of a gun,” he added.
Siboza said he will not back off from the projects because the people who voted for him have trust in him and he will not disappoint them.
The police urge the public to provide information pertaining this incident to the investigating officer, Captain Sabelo Mnguni, on 082 469 1956.
The province has experienced a number of hits on councillors and political activists recently.
Attempted attacks on businessman Soli Masufi and ANC councillor Timothy Maphanga ended in a violent shoot-out in Mashishing. The assassination attempt unfolded on May 6, just after 21:00, when gunmen stormed the Sterkspruit complex, seeking to execute a hit. Heavy gunfire erupted.
Police intelligence has suggested that the suspects travelled from Gauteng with the objective of eliminating Masufi and Maphanga.
ALSO READ: Mpumalanga man killed in act of mob justice
Masufi had reportedly received multiple threats from a suspected tender kingpin in Gauteng over municipal contracts in the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality.
Initially, the gunmen targeted Maphanga’s residence in Skhila, but he managed to evade them, having gone into hiding due to prior threats. The suspects then redirected their mission to Sterkspruit complex, where Masufi lived. Upon arriving at the complex entrance, the suspects forced their way through security, triggering an emergency response from both security personnel and the SAPS. Reports indicate that law enforcement confronted the armed suspects within the complex, culminating in a shoot-out.
The police managed to arrest seven men at the scene, one of whom was wounded. They have made several appearances in the Lydenburg Magistrate’s Court.
Political activist Sizwe Nyambi was shot on his way back to his residence in Nkomazi on October 10 last year.
The police said an armed man wearing a black jersey and a white hat approached him and fired several shots. The victim sustained multiple wounds and was rushed to hospital.
ALSO READ: SAPU reacts to Mpumalanga police officer’s killing
He had been vocal about issues of concern to the community and well known for voicing his apprehension on live Facebook videos. Nyambi had made a live video criticising the Nkomazi Local Municipality’s employees for inadequate water supply less than an hour before the crime.
The Mpumalanga SAPS recorded 9 131 cases of contact crimes in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year (January to March 2025). However, this is a decrease from 9 926 in the 2023/24 period. These are crimes in which the victims are targets of violence, or instances in which the victims are in the vicinity of property that criminals target and are subjected to the use of/or threats of violence by perpetrators. They include murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, car and truck hijacking, and robbery. In most of these, firearms were used to commit the crimes, especially in murder cases.
