Durban — IFP Msinga Local Municipality mayor Mlethi Ndlovu said he was seeking legal advice following a trending video clip in which he was publicly named as a murder suspect during the funeral of an IFP councillor at the weekend.
In the clip, IFP councillor Lungisani Ntuli, who survived an attack two weeks ago in which another IFP councillor Siyanda Magubane died, shocked mourners when he named the mayor as the one who had attacked him and his late colleague.
Ntuli was speaking at Magubane’s funeral at the weekend.
Msinga is a rural village between Dundee and Greytown, in the north-west of KwaZulu-Natal.
Breaking his silence Ndlovu told the Daily News on Monday that although he went to the funeral knowing about the allegations, he was shocked when councillor Ntuli mentioned his name because it was something he never expected.
“As I speak I am in Durban to meet my lawyer for legal advice. My party, the IFP, has advised me to seek legal advice and also report the matter to the police but my lawyer advised me not to because it is Ntuli who must go and open (a case) against me,” said the mayor.
He said he was still disturbed by what his colleague did and denied ever being near the scene where the incident happened.
Ntuli and Magubane, the ward 11 councillor, were travelling in the same car two weeks ago when they were ambushed by gunmen who sprayed their car with bullets. Magubane died.
To the shock of many mourners, Ntuli turned to the side where officials were seated, including the mayor, and said: “Honourable mayor Gatsheni (Ndlovu’s clan) you were not supposed to kill us like this.”
The people in the marquee screamed in disbelief and a police officer was seen grabbing Ntuli and taking him away from the funeral.
“It was like a storm, but at the end, it was like seeing a rainbow after the storm. When I opened my eyes and I saw him. Let me cut the long story short, honourable mayor Ndlovu, you were not supposed to kill us like that,” said Ntuli in the video clip.
A councillor from the municipality who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity said Magubane, who was also the chairperson of the municipality’s public accounts committee, had a fallout with the mayor. The fallout was reportedly about Magubane siding with the opposition in matters of fighting corruption, which angered the mayor.
The councillor said Ntuli as the chairperson of the technical and infrastructure committee could also be targeted because of people who wanted tenders in his department through underhanded means.
The video drew condemnation from various parties. The NFP was the first to call on the mayor to step aside while the police investigate.
The ANC also weighed in on the saga, calling on communities and everyone else who has information on the murder of Magubane to come forward.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said his party viewed the development in a serious light and with immediate effect, the party secretary-general dispatched a team of the national council to investigate the statements issued by Ntuli and allegations against mayor Ndlovu.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said the matter was still under investigation by the police’s political task team, headed by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Three councillors have been killed in a space of a month in the province.
Daily News