ANC Youth League Chairperson in the Musa Dladla Region, Phiwe Mhlongo, has defended his Provincial Secretary Thanduxolo Sabela’s call for the revival of the ANC’s Self Defence Units (SDUs).
Speaking at the Radical Economic Transformation Political Class event held last week at Wood and Raw Primary School in Dumisani Makhaye Village, Mhlongo said there was nothing sinister about Sabela’s view.
According to reports Sabela told thousands of mourners at a funeral in Howick on Saturday that young people should be recruited to join the SDUs and also be trained to handle firearms.
‘Our Provincial Secretary was speaking at the funeral of Sithembiso Mhlongo, an ANC Councillor and ANCYL Deputy Secretary in the Moses Mabhida Region, who was gunned down by unknown people,’ Mhlongo said.
‘I think Sabela’s remarks must be viewed in the context of ensuring safer communities.To date more than 10 ANC leaders have been assassinated in the province, including former ANCYL Secretary General Sindiso Magaqa.
‘It is clear that the police lack the will and capacity to deal with these killings.
Neighbourhood
‘Our understanding is that if these units were to be revived, they would operate in the form of neighbourhood watches, using the modern social media platforms such as WhatsApp groups.
‘They must be established and operate within the ambit of the law. I’m sure people have not forgotten that when former SACP leader Chris Hani was murdered, it only took a neighbour to blow the whistle by alerting the police of the suspects.
‘Those murderers were arrested while they were still in the vicinity of Hani’s home. We want to create that kind of climate within our communities,’ Mhlongo said.
‘It is impossible for the Youth League to turn a blind eye to the brutal killings of politicians in the province.
‘We also share the view that these killings must be investigated thoroughly, as some of them have shown elements of taxi violence. We all know how volatile the taxi industry is.’
The SDUs and IFP-aligned Self Protection Units (SPUs) were traditional rivals linked to political infighting in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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