David Bruce, The Con
Political assassinations appear to be on the increase in
post-apartheid South Africa – especially in more recent years – with researcher
David Bruce suggesting as many as 450 people have been killed since the advent
of democracy.
Intra-party violence has increased in KwaZulu-Natal since the
Inkatha Freedom Party’s splintering of the National Freedom Party. Inter-party
violence, especially within the ANC, has also seen a spike to mirror the
increased competition for resources, tenders and government positions.
The multiple shooting of Seskhona People’s Rights Movement
leader Andile Lili in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township last week appears part
of a broader assault on grass-roots activists. Lili is still recovering in
hospital but several other activists working in the socio-economic rights
sphere in poor communities have not been as lucky to survive.
Shackdweller movement Abahlali basMjondolo has long claimed
that several of their leaders and activists have been assassinated in contested
occupied areas and informal settlements in KwaZulu-Natal. In this essay below,
David Bruce examines this phenomenon that raises worrying questions about the
nefarious, authoritarian instincts that appear to be developing within
government.
Political Killings in SA
Political killings continue to be a feature of political life
in South Africa. In the post-apartheid period these killings have been
concentrated in specific provinces, notably KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and to a
lesser extent Mpumalanga. Though these killings seem to have declined in
Mpumalanga since 2010, there was a pronounced increase in the number of these
killings in KZN over 2011 and 2012. Political killings in the province have
continued to be reported in 2013 and 2014.
Related to this there is ongoing concern about these killings
and why they still continue in South Africa.
Comparison with political killings during apartheid
During the apartheid period political violence and killings
took multiple forms. The circumstances in which deaths took place included
numerous open clashes between armed groups, massacres in which large numbers of
people were killed, as well as killings during demonstrations, disappearances
(where people were killed after being abducted and no trace of them could be
found), incidents of ‘necklacing’ and others. Violence reached its greatest
levels of intensity during the period from 1990 to the final days before the
April 1994 election, with 14 000 deaths in political violence during this
period.
Senior apartheid era government leaders have claimed that
they did not authorise the CCB or Vlakplaas units to act as ‘death squads’ it
is clear that these units aimed to promote the government’s agenda of
suppressing resistance. However, most current day political killings appear to emanate
from local conflicts and rivalries.
In post-apartheid South Africa, particularly from the late
1990s onwards, fatal political violence generally takes the form of what
appears to be targeted killings of specific individuals, often referred to
as ‘assassinations’. It may also include
incidents where supporters of a political party are killed not because of any
position that they hold but as a way of intimidating members of that party in
general. Targeted killings were also one dimension of political violence during
the apartheid era with the full number believed to run to nearly 400, more than
90% of which took place between 1985 and 1994. At that time they included
killings outside South Africa and internally and included killings by members
of government security forces and by armed groups aligned with the South
African government.
Some of the units that were involved in these assassinations,
notably the South African Defence Force’s Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) and a
police unit based at the farm Vlakplaas, were exposed in the early 1990s.
Dulcie September, Rick Turner, Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge, Matthew Goniwe,
Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro, and David Webster were some of the more well
known victims of these killings. Forces linked to the liberation movements were
also involved in killings of this kind.
Many of the apartheid era assassinations were aligned with a
centrally defined common agenda. Thus, even though there is no evidence that
they fit in with a more widely shared agenda.
Defining killings as political
For a killing to be ‘political’ it must
be motivated by or connected to
contestation or rivalry, either regarding access to political power, or
conflict over the way in which the individual targeted (or a group aligned with
that individual), is exercising his or her political power.
In terms of a broad understanding conflict, such as that
between unions
or even between gangs, may be political even if it is not
linked to political parties. Politicians themselves may also be behind the
killings of civilians who
they perceive to threaten their power. However in this
policy brief the focus is on killings of people who are associated with
political parties.
In some killings of political office bearers, or others who
are linked to political parties, it later emerges that the motive for the
killing was not political in nature. Ultimately a killing cannot be classified
as political unless one knows the motive behind it. Unless the motive become
clear (for instance through information revealed at a trial) it would be more
accurate to refer to killings of political office bearers or party members as
‘suspected’ or ‘possible’ political killings.
However the available evidence suggests that many of the
killings of political office bearers and individuals associated with political
parties are indeed political
in nature and are not merely random criminal acts that
coincidentally resulted in the death of a politically connected person. There
is therefore a substantial and continuing problem of political killings in
South Africa though every ‘possible’ political killing is not necessarily a
political killing.
The phenomenon of political killings overlaps with, but is
not synonymous with that of the killing of anti-corruption whistle-blowers.
Some political killings may target politicians who are involved
in attempts to expose corruption
perhaps authorised by other politicians who are threatened by these efforts.
However, other killings of whistle-blowers do not target people connected to
political parties.
Distribution of political killings in post-apartheid South
Africa
During much of the post-apartheid period there has been no
sustained monitoring of this phenomenon of political killings. As a result
there is no comprehensive information on the problem. The picture of political
killings that is presented in this policy brief is based on recent research
into the phenomenon.
KwaZulu-Natal
More than 90% of political killings in post-apartheid South
Africa have been in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In KZN these killings have possibly
numbered 450 or more since 1994. The majority of these killings occurred in the
mid- and late 1990s. From roughly 2000 onwards
the rate at which these killings
occurred appears to have declined substantially. But even at the lowest levels
at which they were occurring there is no year
in which more political killings were
recorded in any other province. The rate of political killings increased once
again in KZN in 2009 and particularly over the years 2011-2012.
From a process of scrutinising and verifying publicly
available data on political killings in press reports and
other documentary sources it has
been possible to identify 54
incidents
of political killings (some involve two fatalities) in the
period from January 2009 to May 2014 in KZN. In the period from 2006 to 2008
another seven killings were identified, bringing the total to 61 fatal
incidents involving a total of 70 fatalities. Though the killings are widely
distributed in KZN, there are specific localities such as Wembezi near Estcourt
in the northern Midlands that are associated with a relatively large number of
the killings. The Ulundi and KwaMashu Hostel areas have accounted for seven of
the 12 fatal incidents (resulting in 14 deaths) in KwaZulu-Natal between
January 2013 and May 2014.
However information from political parties suggests that this
total is not comprehensive and that the total number of deaths in political
killings in the period from 2003 to 2013 numbers over 100 with over 50% of this
number having occurred over 2011 and 2012. One of the factors that sparked the
increase
in
killings was clearly the launch of the National Freedom Party (NFP), as a
breakaway from the Inkatha Freedom Party in February 2011. However, the period
also seems to have involved an increase in killings of ANC members and many of
these killings are believed to have been connected to internal ANC rivalries.
Other than during 2011 and 2012, the highest number of political killings in
KwaZulu-Natal since 2003 was in 2009, with at least 12 apparent killings, seven
of those being ANC members.
Mpumalanga
The other province that has been most strongly associated
with political killings has been Mpumalanga. Approximately 14 people have died
in political killings in the province since 1998. Although the problem has in
some respects been fairly persistent, the total number of deaths recorded
represents a small fraction of those recorded in KwaZulu- Natal. Three of these
killings took place in 2010. This was the highest number recorded in any one
year. One killing was recorded in 2011 and none have occurred, or at least have
received public attention, since then.
Other provinces
Political killings have also become
a prominent issue in North West in
recent years. Killings in North West have included that of anti-corruption
whistleblower and Rustenburg ANC councillor Moss Phakoe in March 2009, and that
of an ANC regional secretary, Obuti Chika, in December 2012. Shortly before
Chika’s assassination there was also an attempt on the life of the ANC
provincial secretary. In June 2014, there was an apparent attempt on the life
of a member of the provincial legislature. Other than in North West there have
been isolated incidents in other provinces. In the Eastern Cape there were two
killings, one in 2009 and one in 2010, that were believed to be political in
nature. In July 2013 two men were convicted for conspiring to kill several
prominent ANC politicians in the province. Other provinces which have
experienced apparent political killings or attempted killings, have included
Limpopo, Gauteng and the Free State.
Provincial legislature
Other than in North West there have been isolated incidents
in other provinces. In the Eastern Cape there were two killings, one in 2009
and one in 2010 that were believed to be political in nature. In July 2013 two
men were convicted for conspiring to kill several prominent ANC politicians in
the province. Other provinces, which have experienced apparent political
killings or attempted killings, have included Limpopo, Gauteng and the Free
State.
Victims of political killings
Those killed include at least 22 who were serving as
councillors, as well as one deputy mayor killed in Mpumalanga in 2007 and one
mayor killed in KwaZulu- Natal in 2005. Of the councillors 18 were in
KwaZulu-Natal, three were in Mpumalanga and one was in North West. Some of
those killed were people holding positions such as regional secretary, leader,
organiser, branch or ward or youth formation chairperson, or were members or
supporters of political parties such as the ANC, IFP and NFP.
In addition to these some of the
deaths which may be regarded as political
have been those of politically
aligned traditional leaders or grass-roots activists who may have been killed
because they appeared to threaten the established political interests. It would
appear that killings in the latter category have also most frequently occurred
in KwaZulu- Natal, notably in areas surrounding Durban, with a number of
victims having come from the shack dwellers movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.
The criminal justice response
There have been at least 10 convictions for apparent
political killings, seven for cases in KwaZulu-Natal, two for cases
in Mpumalanga and one for a case in
North West. Six of these cases (two in Mpumalanga, one in North West and three
in KwaZulu-Natal) have involved the killings of ANC members. Three of the
KwaZulu-Natal cases involve the killing of IFP members or supporters and one
involves an NFP aligned Induna. The convictions are for killings over the years
2007-2012. If it is estimated that there have been roughly 120 political
killings
in the
various provinces since 2003, this suggests that less than 10% of these
killings may have resulted in a conviction.
Reasons for the killings
Related to the legacy of apartheid, a key factor in
understanding political killings is the high value that is attached to
political office in South Africa. Members of the emergent political class often
do not have significant educational qualifications. They also generally ‘do
not have historical assets, and they
have large nuclear and extended families
to support’. There is therefore a very high
premium on political office and on acquiring positions within political
parties. Since the ANC has a virtual monopoly of power in many parts of South
Africa one can expect that positions of power (even relatively low-level
positions) will be highly contested and will result in various forms of
‘intra-elite conflict’ within the ANC
and structures of government. These
dynamics are manifested in the fact that political killings, particularly in
the period since 2000, take place within the context of both inter-party and
intra-party rivalries.
However the high value attached to political office is a
national phenomenon but political killings have consistently been concentrated
in specific provinces, notably KwaZulu-Natal and to a lesser degree Mpumalanga.
Part of the explanation for the persistence of this phenomenon in KwaZulu-Natal
clearly relates to the growth of paramilitary forces in the province from the
mid- 1980s onwards’ and the way in which they were used for establishing and
maintaining territorial control.
This in turn has fed into an assassination industry within
the province, notably within the taxi industry. This in turn sometimes may
enjoy protection from elements within the police service. It may also be that
specific aspects of the political culture in Mpumalanga fed into the phenomenon
in that province with a high proportion of killings believed to have involved
anti- corruption whistleblowers.
Policy implications
Due to the fact that political killings have been
concentrated in specific provinces, notably KZN, the main responses to them
have been provincially based. However the problem is one that directly
undermines South Africa’s democratic institutions and status as a democratic
state. The continuation of the problem indicates that there is a need for a
more systematic and comprehensive response. In order to develop such a response
it would be necessary for there to be:
A comprehensive analysis of the criminal justice response to
the problem.
