Ramaphosa Speaks Out After Recent Political Killings Ahead of Local Elections
- ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed two deadly shooting incidents that claimed 6 lives during election campaigning
- The attacks targeted ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng ahead of the November 2026 local government elections
- Ramaphosa spoke out while campaigning in Cape Town on Sunday, 18 October 2026
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CAPE TOWN — ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has told South Africans that law enforcement authorities are actively pursuing the perpetrators behind a string of deadly attacks on political campaigners.
Ramaphosa made the assurance on Sunday, 18 October 2026, while canvassing for support in Cape Town ahead of the local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
His remarks follow two separate shooting incidents in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that left six ANC members and supporters dead within days of each other.
KZN and Gauteng shootings claim 6 lives
In the first incident, two ANC volunteers were shot and killed while conducting door-to-door campaigning in Umgababa, KwaZulu-Natal. Days before that, four members of the ANC Youth League were shot dead in a mass killing in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, as they were leaving a memorial service.
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The back-to-back attacks have heightened anxiety about the safety of party activists as campaigning intensifies across the country ahead of election day.
Ramaphosa addresses political killings
Speaking directly to the violence, Ramaphosa described the killings as a source of deep concern, noting that those targeted were simply exercising their democratic right to participate in political life.
"On the political killings, we are obviously all disturbed about the political killings that are targeting people who are either campaigning or representatives who should be elected," he said.
The president confirmed that police were working to identify and apprehend those responsible for both attacks. Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding each shooting are ongoing.
The incidents have amplified calls for accountability and raised broader questions about the safety of political canvassers during what has become an increasingly tense pre-election period in South Africa.
SAPS cannot produce figures on political killings
In other related news, Briefly News reported that the South African Police Service said it is unable to supply Parliament with consolidated figures on politically motivated killings recorded since the start of 2020. This exposed a significant gap in the state's ability to monitor and address one of the country's most persistent security challenges.
uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Crossby Vusi Shongwe submitted a parliamentary question to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia requesting the number of political killing cases registered from 1 January 2020. The question called for a breakdown by province and year, along with details on arrests, prosecutions, convictions and acquittals, as well as information on cases still under investigation and what was causing delays in resolving them.
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Source: Briefly News
