Police have reported that during a raid on their residence on Thursday night, gunmen shot and killed the mayor of a town in northern South Africa and injured his son.
In the province of Limpopo, Moses Maluleke, 56, served as mayor of the Collins Chabane municipality. After the incident, his 18-year-old son was rushed to the hospital, according to local media.
Police have made an appeal for information from the public and claim that three people were responsible for the crime.
According to a police spokesman, the father and son reportedly refused to pay the attackers’ demand for money. To arrest the culprits, a 72-hour police action plan has been activated.
On Friday, Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha urged the authorities to find the suspects as condolences for the Maluleke family continued to stream in.
“Last night we slept with heavy hearts after criminals robbed our province by senselessly killing one of our own. Cllr Maluleke will go down in history as one of the champions of development and service delivery,” Mathabatha said.
Mathabatha also wished Maluleke’s son, who is a patient at a nearby hospital, a speedy recovery and announced that he and members of the ANC Provincial Executive Council would pay a visit to the family’s house.
Maluleke was a wise leader both inside the municipality and the ruling party, according to Jimmy Machaka, the ANC’s provincial spokesperson, who claimed that they had suffered a huge loss. Maluleke, according to him, fought corruption and showed excellent leadership. According to Machaka, the murder’s motivation is still unclear.