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‘Hostel hitman’ sentenced to life as Mbalula clamps down on KZN killings

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Glebelands hostel
Glebelands hostel

A Hostel hitman who shot a man dead at the Umlazi Magistrates’ Court has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

He was sentenced on Friday, September 15, as Police Minister Fikile Mbalula visited the hostel.

During his visit he promised that a satellite police station would be opened at the hostel in a week’s time.

The province has become a battleground in the run-up to the ANC’s December elective conference.

Read: Why KZN killings will not stop (now)

Mxoleleni Bhani (28) shot Sipho Ndovela (35) on May 18 2015.

Ndovela was on the court’s premises when Bhani approached him.

The accused drew his firearm and shot Ndovela seven times before he fled the scene, Mbalula said.

A KwaZulu-Natal task team arrested Bhani on August 6 2015, while he was appearing for another murder and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition at the magistrate’s court.

He was also linked to an attempted murder case that was reported at the hostel on June 11 where a 40-year-old man was shot and wounded.

“Surely this thug was not working alone, he might have just been a hitman, and therefore I expect crime intelligence to double their efforts in arresting the mastermind of these killings,” Mbalula added.

Meanwhile, the Moerane Commission is investigating underlying causes in political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.

The commission, which is currently being held in Durban, heard that factions in the ANC contributed to the political killings in the province.

Political killings will increase in KwaZulu-Natal as the ANC’s December elective conference draws closer, said ANC councillor in the uPhongolo Local Municipality, Nqaba Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi testified that besides factionalism, corruption also played a pivotal part in the political killings.

Read: ‘Tell us where the guns are’ – Bheki Cele

“Corruption is the main contributor to the killings. Unemployment, poverty and tenders also have a role in the killings,” he said.

He added that the increasing factions would also have an impact on the 2021 local government elections.

93 people have been shot dead at the hostel in Umlazi since March 2014.

Mbalula said: “I am more than confident that other cases that are currently in court will also bear similar results.

"Our communities must work with and trust the police. The police are doing their utmost to maintain law and order in our country.” – News24

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