Staff Reporter
A United Democratic Movement (UDM) councillor and former deputy mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay was shot dead in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.
Luxolo Namette was killed in Motherwell, Gqeberha, just three days after voters went to the polls in the local government elections on Wednesday.
The UDM has called for an “urgent investigation” into whether the murder was politically motivated.
“He was one of our own, and his murder has shaken us to the core,” UDM secretary-general Bulelani Bobotyane said in a statement following the killing.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said a man’s body was discovered in Umnulu Street, NU9, Motherwell, at about 3.50pm on Saturday. He did not name the victim.
The man had suffered a gunshot wound to the head, he said.
“A murder case has been opened and is being investigated by SAPS Motherwell. As this is an active crime scene, further details will be shared in due course,” said Gantana.
The UDM said it could not rule out the possibility that Namette had been targeted because of his politics.
“While we do not wish to prejudge the outcome of the investigation, we cannot ignore the possibility that councillor Namette was targeted because of his political activities or his responsibilities as a public representative,” the party said.
The UDM said it would refer the matter to the police’s Political Killings Task Team and request specialised attention for the investigation.
“We expect the SAPS to leave no stone unturned in establishing the motive and ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice,” the party said.
Namette began his political career in the UDM Youth Vanguard before rising through the party’s ranks to serve in several municipal leadership positions.
He previously served as deputy mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay and chaired the municipality’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee, which oversees municipal financial accountability.
Local newspaper The Herald reported that the shooting occurred near a shopping area in Motherwell after Namette had left a barber shop.
During a press briefing just days before South Africans went to the polls, police said they had recorded 20 murders involving political representatives, party members and supporters across six provinces, during the election period.
Another opposition party official, Lastborn Shazi, an organiser for former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, was shot dead at his home in Umzumbe, KwaZulu-Natal, on 2 November while participating in a virtual election campaign meeting.
The UDM secured about 2.41% of the vote in Nelson Mandela Bay in the municipal elections, earning three seats in the metropolitan council, according to figures reported from the Electoral Commission’s results dashboard.
The party said Namette’s death had cast a shadow over the conclusion of the elections.
“Political differences must never be settled through the barrel of a gun,” the UDM said.
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