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The DA Provincial leader Francois Rodgers speaks outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court on July 24, 2025.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal says although the motive behind Umngeni Municipality party Chief Whip Nhlalayenza Ndlovu’s murder remains sketchy, they are questioning Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s instruction to disband political killings task team in January.
Five suspects have been arrested in connection with Ndlovu’s killing in December 2023. He was shot dead in front of his wife and children at his Mpophomeni home near Howick.
The initial three Thobani Hlongwa, Khayelihle Shabalala, and Nxamalala induna Zwelithini Buthelezi are due back in the local magistrate’s court today.
DA KZN leader and Finance MEC Francois Rodgers says a lot of questions remain unanswered.
He says, “One wonders if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing particularly in light of what Lieutenant General (Nhlanhla) Mkhwanazi revealed a couple of weeks ago. I don’t want to speculate, but it does leave a lot of unanswered questions which hopefully this case will shed some light on because if there was political motive behind the killing of Nhlalayenza then one wonders why we would have units collapsed. One just thinks of what’s unfolded in the killing of Sindiso Magaqa.”
Local Government Elections
Rodgers says the party will be on high alert ahead of 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE) as the province has a terrible history of political intolerance.
“We’ve got to be alert, we’re coming up to Local Government Elections and we know that KwaZulu-Natal has a terrible history of political intolerance. Although on the positive side it has improved since the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) and again we just appeal to the South African Police Services (SAPS) that we work together to try and combat this.”
He adds, “This is something we have always been a proponent of, that as leaders of our various political parties, we should continue to have dialogue to try and avoid the situations where fathers and husbands are brutally murdered.”- Reporting by Kholo Tefo.
PODCAST | Interview with Rodgers on SA FM’s First Take Programme:
