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Makhado's municipal manager, Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali.

MM goes into hiding after second attack

Date: 13 March 2015 By: 

Makhado's municipal manager, Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali, has taken a leave of absence from work and gone into hiding after an apparent second failed attempt on his life.

Last week, the Zoutpansberger reported on what Mutshinyali was sure was a failed attempt on his life on Saturday, 21 February. The incident occurred in the late afternoon while he was jogging along the farm road leading back to his house near the Cloud's End Hotel. He was confronted by three men, one of whom pulled out a handgun, cocked it and aimed it at Mutshinyali. Mutshinyali was fortunate to escape uninjured, but the event left him severely traumatized.

The Zoutpansberger had barely hit the streets last Thursday when news was received that a second attempt to ambush and kill Mutshinyali had apparently been made. Mutshinyali was contacted immediately but was almost too distraught to talk.

According to him, he was travelling to work on the same road on which the 21 February attack occurred. This was around 07:15. “There is a place along that stretch of road where you need to slow down because of potholes. It was there that they were waiting for me,” Mutshinyali said.

The “they” Mutshinyali was referring to were seven heavily armed men, three of them standing in front of a grey BMW 4 series with a GP registration number. Mutshinyali suspects that he might have caught them off guard by traveling to work earlier than usual. The men jumped into their vehicle and fled the scene upon spotting him. They might also have been unaware that Mutshinyali was travelling with armed security guards after the 21 February attack.

Mutshinyali tried to chase down the men, but lost them in the early morning traffic in Louis Trichardt. Trying to direct messages to the police via cell phone during the chase did nothing to improve the situation either.

The event has left Mutshinyali even more traumatised, to such an extent that it was rumoured that he had told the Agapé congregation, of which he and his family are members, on Sunday that he was going to resign as municipal manager. This news, as well as that of the second incident, came as a double shock to many.

On Monday, the newspaper phoned Mutshinyali to enquire whether or not he had indeed resigned as municipal manager. “Not yet, but I am seriously considering it,” Mutshinyali said. He said, however, that he had opted to take extended leave and was already travelling to an undisclosed destination. “My life is at stake. I am living in fear. Now I have security, but for how long will they guard me? If you were me, what would you do? These people want me to resign and will kill me if I don’t,” Mutshinyali said.

Makhado police spokesperson Const Irene Radzilane confirmed on Wednesday that the police are aware of the second incident and are investigating a case of enticement to commit murder and a case of intimidation. “The investigation is continuing, but at this stage the two cases have not been linked,” Radzilane said. At provincial level, the police are also looking into the incidents. “The matter was brought to the attention of the crime intelligence unit and is being investigated,” said provincial police spokesperson Col. Ronel Otto.

In the meantime, speculation is rife as to what might have motivated these attacks on Mutshinyali. Many believe that it is in retaliation of the external investigation Mutshinyali launched at the end of last year, following allegations of corruption with regard to tender payments made without actual services being rendered. This investigation had already led to the suspension of the municipality’s expenditure finance manager in December, with the preliminary report compiled by the investigating company indicating that more suspensions and even criminal charges against individuals could follow. This investigation is still ongoing.

 
 
 

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