A former ward councillor and two other men implicated in the murder of a councillor candidate are due to appear in the Virginia Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Free State police said.
Spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said Piet Moletsane was shot and killed while leaving the tavern he was working at in September 2021.
"The deceased was active in politics and was a candidate ward councillor by then. The provincial Organised Crime Unit was tasked to investigate the death and on January 28 the unit successfully traced and arrested two suspects, aged 31 and 34, for the murder. Further Investigation revealed that the two accused were allegedly hired as hitmen."
He said the former ward councillor, 44, was arrested after an intensive investigation. He was linked to the case as the alleged mastermind.
"The suspect will appear in the Virginia Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday May 4, 2022. The other two accused are still in custody," he said.
In the Eastern Cape, ANC ward 43 councillor in the Nelson Mandela Bay, Andile Andries, 45, and his branch secretary Lubabalo Keso, 41, were gunned down outside Andries' home in KwaNobuhle, Kariega, formerly Uitenhage, on Monday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said the two were coming out of Andries' house when a minibus taxi drove by and several shots were fired at them. The two died at the scene.
The minibus taxi sped off after the incident.
"The number of the suspects in the Quantum is not known at this stage ...The SAPS [South African Police Service] is therefore appealing to anyone who may have information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects, to contact the nearest police station or call the Crime Stop number 08600 10111," he said. - IOL