MK party official shot dead in South Africa
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL and TimesLIVE
Lastborn Shazi, a regional organiser for South Africa’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, was shot dead at his home in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday while taking part in an online municipal elections meeting, according to IOL and TimesLIVE. Police are investigating with no suspect identified and the party has called for calm, asking members not to speculate, according to TimesLIVE.
Lastborn Shazi, a regional organiser for South Africa’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, was shot dead at his home in Umzumbe, on the southern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, on Monday evening while taking part in an online meeting about municipal elections, according to IOL and TimesLIVE. Police are investigating without an identified suspect, while the party’s provincial spokesperson, Mkhuseli Mlangana, said the circumstances of the killing remained unknown, according to IOL.
Shazi stopped taking part in the meeting before participants received a call at around 9pm reporting the shooting. The MK party called on its members to remain calm and asked them not to speculate while the investigation was under way, according to TimesLIVE and IOL. It also recalled the history of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal, according to IOL.
The killing comes during the special vote held on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s municipal poll. A total of 2,655,067 voters were eligible to vote early, including people unable to attend their polling station because of a disability or unavailability on election day, according to IOL. The death comes as Jacob Zuma resumed the MK party’s campaign on 2 November after his hospitalisation.
