The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the sentencing of Sibusiso Ncengwa, the man found guilty of the 2017 murder of former ANC Youth League Secretary-General, Sindiso Magaqa, to 25 years’ imprisonment by the Pietermaritzburg High Court. This sentence is long-overdue justice for a political assassination that shook the nation.
The court was thorough in its assessment of Ncengwa’s actions, rightly concluding that a man who takes life for personal gain has no place in society. The EFF fully agrees with the view that his removal from society serves the greater public interest. However, while Ncengwa may have pulled the trigger, he was not alone in orchestrating the death of Magaqa.
In his plea, Ncengwa implicated three co-assassins, and senior government officials, including the former ANC Umzimkhulu municipal manager Zweliphansi Skhosana, the late ANC ex-mayor Mluleki Ndobe, and former journalist and eThekwini communications manager, Mdu Ncalane. He revealed a sinister web of political collusion and greed detailing how a hit was arranged in exchange for tenders. Initially promised R120,000 and a R1 million tender, Ncengwa later learned that R600,000 had been paid for the hit and that an additional R500,000 was collected to keep the assassins silent behind bars.
These politicians were not rogue elements, these were embedded figures within the ANC’s local and provincial power structures, using public resources to eliminate internal rivals and maintain political control through bloodshed. The political killing of Sindiso Magaqa was not an anomaly, it was the logical outcome of a criminal culture where tenders, positions, and influence are protected with violence.
The EFF notes that the three other assassins involved in the murder have already been charged and two are expected to stand trial in October this year. However, we reiterate our call for a full criminal investigation into all individuals named by Ncengwa, particularly those who used their political offices to plan and finance Magaqa’s murder. Both Skhosana and Ndobe were initially charged but charges were withdrawn, bringing us to question how we can continue to expect justice when we only hold the hitmen accountable when the real issue is the powerful leaders protected by their positions.
This confirms, once again, what was exposed by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi: a deeply entrenched criminal syndicate exists within the South African state, with politicians, police officers, and government officials colluding to protect their personal and financial interests. The very same ANC officials who should be protecting communities are instead orchestrating assassinations and getting away with it.
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