Developing story: investigations into the killings are continuing and no motive has been confirmed in several cases.

The ANC has condemned political killings recorded around the local government elections, after the police-led National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) counted more than 20 murders in the election period.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, speaking at the IEC's National Results Centre in Midrand on Saturday, said the crimes are a direct threat to democracy. He called on the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority to treat the killings with the utmost seriousness.

Recent incidents

Two ANC members were shot dead in Umgababa, south of Durban, while campaigning in October. An ANC branch chairperson was shot dead outside a voting station in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, on Thursday.

On Saturday night, Eastern Cape police confirmed that former Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor and UDM councillor Luxolo Namette was killed in Motherwell. Police said the motive is under investigation. The UDM said the killing cast a shadow over the elections. No arrests have been reported in that case.

What police have reported

At a NatJoints briefing in Tshwane on 1 November, chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili said the structure had recorded 20 murders involving political representatives, party members and supporters in the election period. By province, the figures were Gauteng seven, KwaZulu-Natal six, Western Cape three, Eastern Cape two, Free State one and North West one.

Mosikili said police were particularly concerned about the loss of life, and said the Political Killings Task Team and provincial and national detectives were prioritising the cases. Reporting of the briefing said seven arrests had been made in the murder cases, though it did not explain how that figure related to the 48 suspects arrested across 139 election-related criminal cases.

Anyone arrested in these cases is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

What we do not yet know

  • The updated NatJoints total, since the figures above were given on 1 November and the ANC now cites more than 20 murders.
  • Whether the killings in Umgababa, Bushbuckridge and Motherwell are linked to the elections.
  • How many of the arrests relate specifically to murder charges.