Moerane report into political killings slammed

The report of the Moerane commission of inquiry into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal has been described as a "whitewash, weak and vague".

Whistle-blower Thabiso Zulu, a close friend of slain ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa, told Business Day after the release of the report by KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu that the report did not offer anything new in its recommendations.

"The report is a whitewash and does not get to the bottom of why people are killed. It’s weak and vague and does not offer anything new from what we already know. It’s recommendations are vague and are not very far from what I already knew," he said.

The controversial report made broad recommendations, which included an urgent investigation into politicians, public officials and business people associated with corrupt activities in the public service.

The commission also recommended that an interministerial task force of the security cluster ministers set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to look into political killings should immediately review the workings of the security agencies and the police.

It also recommended that political parties must:

Take responsibility for the violent competition between their members for political positions and power.

Immediately settle differences within and between themselves through peaceful means using negotiation, mediation and other consensus-building techniques to avoid the continuing murder of politicians and public officials.

Discipline their members whose conduct encourages or results in political intolerance and violence.

Zulu said he had expected the commission to recommend that all security companies ensure that firearms given to security guards were legal and that those people who carried them had permission to do so.

"We are aware that the majority of people who kill people are bodyguards by day and hitmen at night.

"What is also important is to check that people who are in security companies are registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority because these companies use security guards as bodyguards," said Zulu.

He said the Moerane report should have recommended that the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, in conjunction with state security and crime intelligence, should vet security guards.

The commission, Zulu said, should have focused on big tenders as dirty money used to hire hitmen come from them.

"The financial intelligence should raise red flags on suspicious transactions because these monies are withdrawn in cash and used to pay hitmen. I was hoping the commission would also touch on that, but it did not," said Zulu.

Zulu, who testified before the Moerane commission, blew the whistle about alleged corruption in the Umzimkhulu local municipality after he was given documents by Magaqa.

The alleged corruption involved a municipal tender at Umzimkhulu that ballooned from R4m to R37m.

He claimed it was this information that ultimately led to Magaqa’s murder.

Magaqa had passed on documentation to the Hawks that claimed to prove corruption in the tender for the upgrading of the Umzimkhulu Memorial Hall.

Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is finalising her report on the alleged corruption.