MK Party regional organiser Lastborn Shazi shot dead at his Umzumbe home on the eve of South Africa's local elections — motive not established
Lastborn Shazi, a regional organiser of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, was shot dead at his home in Umzumbe, KwaZulu-Natal, late on Monday, while on a Zoom call coordinating the party's election campaign, senior police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda said on Tuesday (Reuters). Police have opened a murder case and are investigating the motive — no motive or suspect is established, and KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi warned on Tuesday against assuming the killing was politically motivated before investigators establish what happened. The MK Party confirmed Shazi's death in a statement, called it a devastating blow, and called for the Political Killings Task Team to investigate. The killing came on the eve of Wednesday's local government elections, in a province where police have identified more than 165 polling stations as high-risk and recorded 20 murders involving political representatives, party members and supporters during the election period.
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Key points
- MK Party regional organiser Lastborn Shazi was shot dead at his Umzumbe home on Monday night, during a Zoom call coordinating the party's campaign (police via Reuters). A murder case is opened; the motive is under investigation.
- The MK Party confirmed his death, called it a devastating blow, and demanded a Political Killings Task Team investigation.
- KZN's police commissioner warned against assuming a political motive — for Shazi's killing and for ActionSA activist Victoria Mkhize's death a day earlier — before investigators finish.
- Context: 20 election-period murders of political figures, members and supporters recorded nationally (NATJOINTS); 510 soldiers deployed to KZN; 165+ polling stations classed high-risk — on the eve of Wednesday's local elections.
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Video: SABC News · Watch on YouTube
What happened
South Africa votes in local government elections on Wednesday 4 November, and KwaZulu-Natal — the home province of former president Jacob Zuma, whose MK Party split from the ANC in 2023 — is the most contested ground in the country. Polls project the MK Party could take eThekwini, the Durban metro and the province's economic hub, from the ANC. The province also carries a long, documented history of political killings around municipal office, which is why a dedicated Political Killings Task Team exists.
Shazi was working when he was killed: on a Zoom call with the party's regional elections team, coordinating the campaign, two nights before polling day. He was also, the party says, on its proportional-representation list for the election. A day earlier, ActionSA activist Victoria Mkhize was found dead near her home in Maphumulo; her child is an ActionSA ward candidate. Police are investigating both deaths and have established no link between them.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The police spokesperson's statement as reported by Reuters (read in this pass), agreeing with the MK Party's own confirmation of Shazi's death and with SABC News' report. No motive or suspect is stated by police — that absence is part of this claim, not a gap to fill.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The party's own statement, as carried by The National's report (read in this pass) and SABC News. The party's call for a task-team investigation is its stated demand, carried as its position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Mkhwanazi's remarks as reported from the Tuesday parade by The Profiler and GhanaMMA's report (both read in this pass), agreeing on the warning. Mkhize's death is a separate incident: ActionSA alleges she was stabbed and strangled — that allegation is the party's, carried here as reported by police-linked coverage, and no connection to Shazi's killing is claimed by any source read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (2 more)
Why this label: The NATJOINTS figures via The National's report of Mosikili's briefing; the deployment and high-risk-station figures via Reuters. Both are the authorities' own figures, stated as theirs.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Police say the motive is under investigation (Reuters). The polling projection is Reuters' reporting of recent polls, carried as context only; nothing read connects the killing to any party, rival or dispute.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The killing, the place and the circumstance (police spokesperson, via Reuters; MK Party statement).
- A murder case is opened and the motive is under investigation; the provincial commissioner has publicly warned against assuming a political motive.
- The election-period context figures are the authorities' own: 20 murders recorded, seven arrests, 139 dockets (NATJOINTS); 510 soldiers deployed and 165+ high-risk stations in KZN (Reuters).
What we don't know yet
- Who shot Shazi and why — no suspect named, no motive confirmed.
- Whether the Political Killings Task Team takes the case, as the MK Party demands.
- Whether Shazi's death and Victoria Mkhize's death a day earlier are connected — police have established no link.
Why it matters
Political killing is the standing fear of South African local elections, and KwaZulu-Natal is where it concentrates: control of municipalities means control of jobs and contracts, and organisers — the people who actually run campaigns ward by ward — are the most exposed figures in that contest. An organiser shot at home, mid-campaign-call, two nights before polling day tests whether the state's election-period machinery (task team, soldiers, high-risk station lists) can protect the people the election depends on — whatever the motive turns out to be.
Background
ActionSA activist Victoria Ntombi Mkhize, 63, is found dead in the Maphumulo area; police say she had visible injuries. NATJOINTS says 20 election-period murders have been recorded nationally, with seven arrests.
Lastborn Shazi is shot dead at his home in Umzumbe during a Zoom call coordinating the MK Party's election campaign.
Police confirm a murder case is opened and the motive is under investigation; the MK Party demands a Political Killings Task Team probe; Commissioner Mkhwanazi warns against assuming a political motive. Local elections follow on Wednesday.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state (queue #1252): the killing and the police position are verified across Reuters, the MK Party's statement and SABC News; the commissioner's no-assumed-motive warning is verified across two reports of the Tuesday parade. Audit: no motive, suspect or political responsibility is stated anywhere on this page as fact — the headline itself carries 'motive not established'. Video: SABC News' report 'MKP regional organiser killed in KZN' is attached after YouTube's oEmbed endpoint returned 200 for it in this pass (official broadcaster channel). Photo: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (Media Club South Africa, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons) — a file photo of the province's main city, labelled in the alt text; no verified photo of Shazi or the scene was sourced. Translations: headline, summary and take labels in all 13 languages in the same run.