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The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is shocked and deeply angered by the cold-blooded murder of its Ward 17 Councillor Candidate under the uMlalazi Local Municipality, Cllr Khethelo Mdluli (40).

Cllr Mdluli, who had served as an IFP PR Councillor since 2021, was brutally shot in front of his children at his home in oPhindweni, Gingindlovu, on Thursday evening last week. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday at Ngwelezane Hospital.

The IFP unequivocally condemns this barbaric and senseless killing in the strongest possible terms. There can be no justification whatsoever for the taking of a human life, and there can be no place in our democracy for political violence, intimidation or the assassination of those who have chosen to serve their communities.

The circumstances surrounding Cllr Mdluli's killing are particularly disturbing. He was a serving public representative and a candidate in the upcoming Local Government Elections. His murder therefore strikes not only at his family and community, but at the very foundations of our constitutional democracy and the right of every South African to participate freely and safely in the political process.

Political violence must never be allowed to become a weapon in our democracy. No councillor, political candidate, activist, community leader, public servant or ordinary citizen should have to fear for their life because they have chosen to serve their community or exercise their democratic rights.

The IFP calls on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to treat this matter with the highest level of urgency and priority. We demand a thorough, professional and uncompromising investigation into this murder, and call for every necessary policing resource to be mobilised to identify, arrest and bring all those responsible to justice.

We further call on the relevant law-enforcement authorities to investigate every possible motive and angle behind this killing, including any possibility that it may be politically motivated. The people of uMlalazi and the Mdluli family deserve answers, accountability and justice.

The IFP will not allow the murder of a dedicated public representative to be reduced to another statistic. Those responsible must face the full might of the law.

Cllr Mdluli was elected in 2021 and served his community with commitment, humility and dedication. He was a servant of the people who devoted himself to the interests of his community. His life and service have now been brutally cut short, leaving a grieving family and a community deprived of a leader.

The IFP calls on the community to remain calm, peaceful and restrained during this difficult period. We must not allow anger and grief to fuel further violence. Instead, we must stand united in demanding justice through the law and ensuring that the democratic values for which Cllr Mdluli served are upheld.

The IFP extends its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the Mdluli family, particularly his wife and three children, aged 8, 4 and his newborn child, as well as to his relatives, friends, colleagues and the people of uMlalazi.

A life dedicated to serving the people has been violently taken. We will mourn Cllr Mdluli, we will honour his service, and we will demand justice for his family and his community.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Issued by IFP National Spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa