IFP National Spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa Salutes Deputy Chief Whip KP Sithole Who Was Assassinated

• The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) confirmed that its deputy Chief Whip of Parliament, KP Sithole, was brutally murdered
• The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, but he was gunned down in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, on 31 May 2025
• The IFP's National Spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, conveyed his condolences and described him as a trusted patriot and diligent leader

With 10 years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics, and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

EKURHULENI, GAUTENG — The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) National Spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengw,a conveyed his condolences to the party's deputy chief whip of Parliamen,t KP Sithole, who was mercilessly gunned down in Ekurhuleni on 31 May 2025.

What happened to Sithole?

Hlengwa posted on his Facebook account, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and confirmed the death of Sithole. The circumstances leading to the death of the 68-year-old party stalwart remain unclear. However, unknown assailants opened fire and killed him before fleeing the scene.

Hlengwa said that the law enforcement agencies are working hard to apprehend the suspects. Sithole, he said, joined the IFP as a young man and served in various structures in the party. He served as its Gauteng Provincial Chairperson and was a councillor in Ekurhuleni.

Sithole also served as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in 2009 and 2019 before the party redeployed him to the National Assembly, where he served as the deputy chief whip.

Hlengwa praises Sithole

Hlengwa said the IFP is poorer because of Sithole's death.

"South Africa has lost a good man who served his country par excellence. Sithole was a hard-working servant leader of the people and our country. We have lost a trusted patriot and a diligent leader of the IFP," Hlengwa said.

Politicians who were killed

• An EFF member was gunned down in his home in Ga-botha in Limpopo on 26 May 2023, and the police found him with a gunshot wound to his neck
• Three members of the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) were found dead in March 2024, days after they went missing in KwaZulu-Natal
• A Mpumalanga African National Congress councilor was gunned down in his home in Tonga in April, and his wife survived the attack
• A member of the MK Party was brutally murdered in Cato Manor in KwaZulu-Natal on 5 June while dropping his child at creche
• A regional leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was killed during a protest in Alexandria, Johannesburg in August when police allegedly fired bullets to disperse a crowd

What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on SABC News' Facebook post about the death were shaken.

Sipho Ndlovu said:

"He was not just an IFP member but a Member of Parliament. It was an inside job, and the police will be pressured to get them because other MPs won't feel safe."

Lethamaga Lelogamaano Shaku said:

"Stomach politics is very dangerous."

Thabiso Sam Ngulube asked:

"Where was his bodyguard?"

Grace Matomane said:

"People are cruel, though. Rest in power, leadership."

Tumie Mashiane said:

"South Africa is a warzone."

MK Pary members killed after clash in Katlehong

In a related article, Briefly News reported that two members of the MK Party were gunned down when a fight broke out between them and members of the ANC. The incident happened in May, days before the 2024 general elections.

One of the ANC members pulled a gun out and shot the two MK Party members. One member died on the scene and the other succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.

Source: Briefly News