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“Did you find your guns? We have dropped them off for you to defend yourselves when we come for you because your comrades were defenceless when we killed them.”
This is a telephone message from an unknown caller, who spoke “pure Tshivenda”.
The call was received after two guns and ammunition were found at the home of an SA Communist Party (SACP) provincial official, in his garden.
It has raised fears that the recent killings of two SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) officials may not be the last.
It came at a time when several SACP provincial leaders had joined some of Samwu’s provincial leaders in hiding.
It is believed that the two Samwu officials who were recently murdered were targeted for their outspoken criticism against mayors and municipal managers who had illegally deposited funds in the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank.
City Press reported last week on the murders of the union’s former Limpopo chairperson, Timson Tshililo, and deputy provincial secretary Roland Mani, as well as on fellow union members fleeing their homes in fear for their lives.
Mani and Tshililo were employed by the Vhembe District Municipality, which is one of the municipalities that broke the law by depositing millions of public funds into the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank.
With the number of those in hiding having now increased, it has emerged that there is a hit list.
Those who spoke to City Press from their hiding places said Mani and Tshililo’s names were on the list.
A call that accelerated fear and panic
The chilling phone call was received on Monday by a Samwu branch official at the Vhembe District Municipality.
“The first time the call was made, the line was not clear,” said the unionist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“So, he called again. This time, his voice was clear, but I did not recognise it. The caller spoke in clear Tshivenda, alerting me to two firearms discovered earlier that morning.
“This was not the voice of someone sympathetic but of someone sending a serious message that the killings are not over. Why else would someone who wants to kill you give you guns to defend yourself against them? This is what I keep asking myself.”
Police were called to the scene, and the guns and ammunition were taken away for tests.
VBS beneficiaries alleged to be behind the killings
Following the special central executive committee meeting it held last week, labour federation Cosatu “strongly condemned the recent spate of killings of Samwu leaders in Vhembe”.
“It is blatantly obvious that the Samwu and Cosatu leaders in Vhembe are being killed for supporting our fight against corruption and for specifically speaking out against VBS looters,” the federation added.
Are those targeted from Vhembe only?
Vhembe invested more than R300 million in VBS and, just like the SACP and Cosatu in the province have done, Tshililo and Mani had called for consequences for those responsible for looting.
One of Mani’s colleagues said he was gunned down about three hours after attending a meeting between officials of Samwu, Cosatu, the SACP and the ANC Vhembe region, with VBS having been the main point of discussion.
Ironically, although both the SACP and Samwu would not confirm it, City Press has reliably learnt that most of those in hiding are from Vhembe and serve in various positions in Samwu and SACP structures, both at local and provincial level.
Living in fear but determined to speak out against corruption
The SACP’s second deputy provincial secretary in Limpopo, Skinjar Ramugumo, refused to disclose if he was among those living in fear.
“I will not confirm whether I am in hiding or not, but rather, I am speaking for everyone. We are targeted because of our support for the stance taken by both Samwu and Cosatu against corruption. We are also being targeted for being robustly outspoken on the VBS saga,” he said.
“We will not be on the run forever and we can never be silenced on corruption issues. We are working with the police and remain hopeful that an arrest will soon be made.”
One of the SACP leaders in hiding, who is from Vhembe and asked not to be identified, said this felt like the apartheid days, when they used to live on the run in a bid to escape the security forces.
“Nothing is as painful as being exiled from home because of being outspoken against criminality. I am forced to leave my family and I am having sleepless nights worried sick about them,” he said.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlapele Mojapelo said no arrests had been made.
