Police are investigating 21 politically motivated murders recorded during the election period, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) said on Thursday, 5 November 2026, a day after the local government elections.
According to IOL, NATJOINTS chairperson Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili released the figures at a briefing in Midrand. Police logged 85 incidents on voting day, Wednesday, 4 November 2026, leading to 57 criminal case dockets and 27 arrests, and 32 of those cases involved alleged contraventions of the Electoral Act.
What police said about the politically motivated murders
Mosikili said the cases include the murder of an MK Party member in KwaZulu-Natal, and that police are processing murders that happened outside voting stations and outside voting hours. The tally has grown from 20 on Sunday, 1 November 2026, when seven arrests had been made. On the new total, Mosikili said:
To date, we have registered 21 murder cases which are politically motivated in relation to the election period.
Politically motivated murders in KwaZulu-Natal
Lastborn Shazi, the MK Party’s regional organiser in Ugu, was shot dead at his homestead in Umzumbe on Monday, 2 November 2026, while attending a virtual meeting to prepare for the elections. Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a murder case was opened and the suspects are unknown. Party spokesperson Mkhuseli Mlengane said:
Yesterday, around 9pm, we received the news that there was a shooting at his homestead because at that time he was in a meeting with the regional elections team, of course preparing for the next day of elections.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, speaking after voting in Randburg on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, condemned the killing of party members in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere. In August, a fifth suspect was arrested over the murder of DA councillor Ndlovu in the province. Cachalia said:
In the last few months, and weeks, we’ve had several incidents of assassination and murder in KZN and the Eastern Cape. That’s just not acceptable.
Polokwane stabbing and other murders under investigation
In Limpopo, a 31-year-old man was stabbed in the neck at a park opposite Florapark Comprehensive School in Polokwane early on Thursday, 5 November 2026, and declared dead at the scene. Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said two people allegedly from the same political party argued; reports identified the man as a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Police recovered a knife believed to be the murder weapon and arrested a 35-year-old man, who is expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 6 November 2026, on a murder charge. Mashaba said:
The motive behind the incident is unknown at this stage, and police investigations are continuing.
Police are also investigating a shooting in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, where a 57-year-old man was shot dead early on Thursday, 5 November 2026. Mosikili’s Sunday, 1 November 2026 breakdown of the 20 murders then recorded put Gauteng at seven, KwaZulu-Natal at six, the Western Cape at three, the Eastern Cape at two, and the Free State and North West at one each.
Sources
- IOL, 57 cases registered on voting day as 21 political murders recorded during election period
- IOL, Cachalia condemns political killings as MK Party organiser is gunned down
- Jacaranda FM, EFF member fatally stabbed near Polokwane voting station
- Briefly, EFF branch treasurer stabbed to death near Polokwane voting station on election day
- ECR, EFF member murdered in Polokwane park after alleged altercation
- SNL24, Family wants answers after party leader killed
- The National, MKP calls for political killings task team to probe KZN organiser's murder
- The Common Sense, NATJOINTS: 20 murders involving party members and supporters
- Swisher Post, DA councillor Ndlovu murder: Fifth suspect arrested
