Three men convicted of murdering an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader in Weenen will know their fate on 28 October when the court sentences them for a political killing that has haunted the Midlands since January last year.
The KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team has secured convictions in the murder of IFP Branch Executive Committee Secretary Mthokozisi Sithole, who was gunned down outside a tavern in Weenen on 27 January 2024.
Sithole was the BEC Secretary of Mbabazane Ward 20 under iLanga Libalele Local Municipality – one of the ground-level organisers that keep the IFP’s machinery running in the rural heartland of KZN, where ward politics can be a matter of life and death.
Police say following an intensive investigation, the PKTT arrested four suspects and charged them with murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
They were identified as Sthembiso Nkululeko Xulu, Mduduzi Mncube who is alleged to be the shooter, Sthabiso Mncube, and Sokolisa Sibiya.
The breakthrough came when ballistics linked the firearm used in Sithole’s murder to another killing – that of Thembinkosi Manana.
Accused number three, Sthabiso Mncube, was also charged in the Manana case, forcing prosecutors to join the two matters.
Judgment has now been handed down in both dockets, with the court finding three accused guilty of murder and for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The matter has been postponed to 28 October for sentencing.
Police spokesperson Colonel Amanda van Wyk said the convictions show that the Task Team remains focused despite ongoing political pressure over its future.
“The KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team has secured convictions against three accused persons in connection with the murder of an Inkatha Freedom Party Branch Executive Committee Secretary,” Van Wyk said.
She confirmed that Sithole was shot and killed outside a tavern in Weenen and that four suspects were initially charged.
“The investigation also established a link between the firearm used in Sithole’s murder and another murder case, relating to the murder of Mr Thembinkosi Manana,” she said.
“Judgment was handed down in both matters, with the court finding three accused guilty of murder and for possession of an unlicensed firearm. The matter has been postponed to 28 October 2026 for sentencing.”
Van Wyk said the Task Team’s mandate has not changed.
“The PKTT remains resolute in its efforts to ensure that perpetrators of political killings are identified, arrested and prosecuted, while continuing to work closely with the National Prosecuting Authority to strengthen cases brought before the courts,” she said.
The conviction lands at a politically sensitive moment for the Task Team itself.
The unit, which was established in 2018 to deal with spiralling political killings in KZN, is itself the subject of fierce debate in Parliament.
The ad hoc committee probing allegations by KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is weighing claims of political interference and the disbandment of the PKTT, while investigators continue to work active dockets in the province.
In recent years, the PKTT has secured convictions in several high-profile KZN political murders, but conviction rates remain low compared to the number of cases opened since the Moerane Commission.
