The crisis was further deepened by allegations by the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, that the Special Task Force that was supposed to investigate political killings was deliberately disbanded to protect crime networks. He accused senior officials, including the Minister of Police, of interference and sabotage. These revelations led to the establishment of the Madlanga Commission to investigate corruption and political interference in the security services. Amid assassinations, collaboration between elite and crime networks, and a weakening state, a question of utmost importance is whether South Africa has already become a mafia state, or if there is still a chance to change course.

The recent assassination of Bouwer van Niekerk, a lawyer known for his work in the rural communities of the Northern Cape, has put the country’s justice system in the spotlight once again. The murder has highlighted the vulnerability of legal practitioners in remote areas. According to experts, there is an urgent need for a more effective and rapid response to such attacks to ensure the safety of legal practitioners and maintain the integrity of the justice system.

The situation in the South African Police Service is further deepening after serious allegations against the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu. Commissioner Mkhwanazi alleged before the Madlanga Commission that Mchunu had abruptly dissolved the Special Task Force that was supposed to investigate political murders without notice or consultation, a decision that, according to Mkhwanazi and the national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, was an ‟unlawful abuse of power”. Mchunu has since been suspended by President Ramaphosa. This has led to a judicial inquiry into the alleged collusion between crime networks and senior government officials. The inquiry should answer serious questions about the integrity of the South African Police Service and the implications of corruption among politicians.

The history of political assassinations in South Africa shows that some crimes continue to leave a trail of uncertainty and conspiracy theories even decades later. Two of the most notorious cases, the murder of Dr HF Verwoerd in 1966 and that of Chris Hani in 1993, illustrate this pattern. In both cases, the perpetrators were caught and brought to justice; however, this has not prevented various theories about their motives from circulating to this day. Verwoerd was murdered with a dagger by Dimitri Tsafendas, a mentally disturbed parliamentary messenger. Tsafendas was held in a psychiatric institution until he died in 1999. Two right-wingers, Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Waluś, were convicted of Hani’s murder. They claimed that they wanted to sabotage the political transition underway, which they feared. These assassinations show that violence and political instability can cast a long-lasting shadow over the country and that even after a trial and sentence by the court, the community is still searching for the whole truth.

The assassination of Babita Deokaran shows how dangerous it can be to expose corruption in South Africa. Deokaran, a whistleblower at the Gauteng Department of Health, was murdered execution-style outside her home in the south of Johannesburg in August 2021.

In her role as Chief Director of Financial Accounting, she formed a powerful line of defence against irregular and questionable payments. Her position also gave her control over the paper trail of evidence of the misuse of public funds. This made her an invaluable resource for the Special Investigations Unit.

Research by News24 has revealed the details of her latest corruption investigation. They examined more than 60 000 emails and the contents of her cell phone for over a year. This investigative series, titled Silenced: Why Babita Deokaran was murdered, reveals what she found in the days before she was murdered. It reminds us that those who seek the truth often risk their lives to expose corruption.

In the context of community safety and justice, Deokaran’s story highlights the urgent need for protection when individuals expose the truth. Society cannot afford to silence those who expose corruption.

The assassinations of liquidator Cloete Murray and his son Thomas in March 2023 shook South Africa’s legal and anti-corruption frameworks. Murray was a prominent liquidator involved in investigations into Bosasa and Gupta-linked companies. His son was accompanying him as a legal advisor when they were shot. Thomas died at the scene and Cloete later succumbed to his wounds.

Other voices, such as those of Corruption Watch and Transparency International, immediately called for a swift, transparent investigation. This murder was a warning that those who expose corruption risk paying the ultimate price.

What makes it especially tragic is that Cloete Murray was at the turning point of a major liquidation investigation and could expose the illicit assets of political figures. In the fight against corruption, his death is a painful reminder that corruption prevails where truth seekers are not protected. His death is a loss for justice and faith in a just society.

The assassination attempt on senior advocate Coreth Naudé, who investigated high-level corruption and tax evasion on behalf of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), has deeply shaken South Africa. Naudé was investigating Shauwn ‟MaMkhize” Mkhize’s tax affairs. She was shot in the torso, neck and face in her car outside her hotel in Durban and had to fight for her life in the intensive care unit. According to SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter, the attack was clearly intended to intimidate investigators and court officials and undermine the justice system. He called it a cowardly act that not only affects an individual but threatens the entire society’s faith in justice.

Mkhize, who is believed to owe more than R37 million in back taxes, is no stranger to the tax authorities. Her cleaning business was liquidated in 2020 over unpaid tax debts. Now, with luxury cars and sporting interests potentially at stake, the message of this attack is clear: Those who ‟follow the money” and expose corruption pay the ultimate price. The fact that Naudé, like the murdered Cloete Murray before her, was not a law enforcement officer, but simply a legal expert doing her job, shows that even professionals outside the ranks of the police are no longer safe. This incident confirms a disturbing reality: Where money and power interests converge, the search for justice becomes life-threatening.

When we look at these stories, from Bouwer van Niekerk in the Northern Cape to political figures like Verwoerd and Hani, and from whistleblowers like Babita Deokaran to liquidators like Cloete Murray, we see a pattern that is no accident. Assassinations in South Africa are not just personal; they are attacks on the rule of law itself. Every time a legal figure, investigator or whistleblower is murdered, the message is sent that it is dangerous to pursue truth and justice.

These deaths send the stark message to us as a community that corruption, organised crime and political power are deeply embedded in the fabric of our country. But they also call us to action. They demand better protection for legal practitioners and whistleblowers to build community safety and not remain silent when justice is threatened.

The actual test for South Africa lies in whether we are prepared to remember these victims’ stories not just as tragic stories, but as beacons that point our way. Every assassination is a warning, but it can also be a wake-up call to build a society in which the truth is not fatally shot but remains the light that guides us all.

South Africa itself is at a dangerous turning point where corruption, organised crime and political funding have become so intertwined that experts are already describing it as a mafia state. Studies show that large parts of the justice system and police have been affected by corruption. At the same time, analysts warn that criminal networks are increasingly infiltrating state institutions and even influencing control over infrastructure. These developments point to more than just individual cases of abuse – they form a systemic pattern where abuse of power, violence and extortion are undermining the foundations of democracy. The urgent question is therefore whether South Africa can act in time to halt this dangerous trajectory, or whether the country will eventually degenerate into a full-fledged mafia state.

Zel-Marí Gelderblom is the coordinator of content and media relations at AfriForum and holds a master’s degree (cum laude) in gender politics from Nelson Mandela University. She is also the presenter of AfriForum in Focus.

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Murdered Municipal Officials (2019/20 – 2023/24)

A total of 37 municipal officials were killed, with the distribution across provinces as follows:

KwaZulu-Natal emerged as the epicentre of these killings, with 17 incidents, highlighting its status as a hotspot for violence against local government officials.

Murdered Municipal Councillors (2019/20 – 2023/24)

The number of councillors murdered during the same period reached 59, with the following provincial breakdown:

KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape reported the highest numbers, with 21 and 19 councillor murders, respectively, underscoring the entrenched risks in these regions.

The murders of municipal officials and councillors not only destabilise local governance but further erode public trust in democratic institutions. The persistent violence demands urgent intervention by law enforcement agencies, community leaders, and policymakers to ensure the safety of public servants who are essential to service delivery and governance at the grassroots level.

As the numbers continue to rise, the spotlight remains on creating effective strategies to combat the violence and protect those dedicated to serving their communities.

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In its latest report, titled The Politics of Murder, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) found an average of at least one political hit every two weeks between January and April this year.

the killings are brutal, often carried out by hitmen with little regard for bystanders and frequently targeting high-profile individuals. The killings have also become more brazen, with victims targeted at public gatherings, often in front of children and community members

GI-TOC

In the report, GI-TOC analysts Chwayita Thobela and Rumbi Matamba said there were always spikes in political assassinations during election years, particularly in long-contested provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal.

“The 2024 elections, the sixth national election in the country’s 30 years of democracy, have been earmarked as a potential watershed moment, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) facing challenges in securing its National Assembly majority. Recent changes in what has long been a stagnant political landscape include a rise in coalition governments and the formation of several new political parties, most significantly the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, whose campaigning has been led by former president Jacob Zuma.”

“The MK party already holds substantial support in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, a former ANC stronghold, where it threatens to dilute ANC votes. The ANC’s waning influence, on the back of high unemployment and crime rates, cost of living increases and widespread government corruption, including unaddressed state capture revelations, means that the 2024 elections could see several political power shifts.”

GI-TOC said the breakdown of hits by province follows the pattern of previous years, with the highest number of political assassinations in 2023 recorded in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Significantly fewer cases were recorded in Gauteng (two), the Eastern Cape (two), Limpopo (one), Mpumalanga (three) and the Western Cape (four). The motives behind these killings in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere vary, but include eliminating political rivals, intimidating voters, removing competitors for local government contracts, targeting municipal workers responsible for awarding these contracts, and silencing those who speak out against corruption, particularly in local government.”

While around 64 elections are happening around the world in 2024, South Africa’s elections stand out for “the very real threat of violence that they bring,  a cumulation of the influence of criminal networks and state-embedded actors in driving criminality.”

“Indeed, targeted killings in South Africa are interconnected with criminal networks and state-embedded actors, with flare-ups in violence from competition in the minibus taxi industry, gang dynamics and electoral disputes.”

“Targeted killings affect who can contest in municipal elections, lead to increased violence in gang-afflicted communities, influence transparency and accountability in state-owned enterprises, and affect the provision of essential services such as water, electricity and sanitation. Targeted killings are a manifestation of the extent of criminal governance in South Africa, with criminals filling the gaps left by the state, with particularly devastating consequences for a relatively young democracy,” the report said.

Thobela and Matamba said violence not only violates political and civil rights but also undermines democracy by allowing criminal elements to influence or control government functions.

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