A ward councillor of Mkhondo in Mpumalanga and two others were shot dead in Longhomes township in Piet Retief on Friday night.

According to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdluli, Councillor Sibonelo Mthembu was with his mechanic and a friend when they were accosted by suspects who opened fire.

“The three were shot in a yard in Mkhondo. Information indicates that the councillor as well as his mechanic were dropped off by a friend, who was driving a bakkie, when three armed men appeared. The suspects fired multiple shots at the councillor who was in the yard and also fatally shot the friend who was still inside his bakkie. The mechanic was shot by the same suspects while in the yard. Thereafter the three suspects fled,” Mdluli says.

Mthembu and the mechanic were taken to hospital. The mechanic was declared dead on arrival while the councillor succumbed later on due to his wounds.

“When police and medical personnel got to the scene, they discovered a male victim who had been shot and was sitting motionless behind the wheel of a white bakkie. The paramedics declared him dead,” Mdluli explains.

He says a case of three counts of murder was opened and the suspects are still at large.

Mdluli appeals to the community members to work with law enforcement to bring the perpetrators to book.

The MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, says this was an ‘act of cowardice’ which did not only rob the community of its leadership, but also impacted negatively on service delivery at a local level.

“We must all work together to bring to book the perpetrators who deserve lengthy jail terms. This is the second time in recent months that we lost a councillor at the hands of callous criminals. Condemnation alone is not enough. Such barbaric individuals must be urgently brought to book. The police should not spare any effort to ensure justice,” adds the MEC.

He also sent condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the victims, and the entire Mkhondo community.

The Mpumalanga police commissioner, Lieutenant General Daphney Manamela, also strongly condemned the ‘barbaric act’.