EFF leader Julius Malema has revealed how he was left shocked as he inspected the bullet-riddled vehicle his friend and former comrade‚ Sindiso Magaqa‚ was driving when he was ambushed two months ago.
Malema was ANCYL leader and Magaqa the secretary-general in 2012 when the organisation was disbanded‚ and the two remained close friends despite belonging to different parties.
Magaqa and two fellow ANC councillors from the Umzimkhulu Municipality - who are both still in hospital - were attacked in the southern KwaZulu-Natal town on July 13 as they got out of the car to go to a shop. He was recovering in hospital‚ but died on Monday after complaining of stomach pains.
On Friday‚ Malema was shown the vehicle Magaqa and his colleagues were in during the ambush. He said that seeing the bullet-riddled Mercedes-Benz SUV left him shocked and wondering how his friend survived the attack.
"It was so scary. The intention was to kill him instantly‚" he told TimesLIVE on Saturday‚ a day after he visited the Magaqa family home in Ibisi‚ Umzimkhulu.
"They found 65 cartridges there. How do you open fire with 65 bullets and you still don't kill a single person? This is exactly what confirmed that the assassins are not well trained people. There is a suspicion that they are from hostel in Durban. They are given a basic thing of operating a rifle‚ but they don't know how to use it. It is not professionals. It's reckless murderers who are given R5‚000 each and they go and execute a mission on behalf of petty local politicians‚" he said.
Malema also admitted that the "volatile" conditions in Umzimkulu means he might not be able to attend next week's funeral. The funeral was pushed back a week after Magaqa's mother collapsed and had to be taken to hospital. While she was discharged on Wednesday‚ she was not well enough to make the funeral arrangements‚ hence the postponement.
"The intention has always been to go‚ but there is a continuous assessment being made to check if we will not be compromised. If conditions permit‚ I will go. It will be reckless to just go in without taking some security measures. When I went ‚ the only time realised I was there was when I was leaving‚" he said.
But if he did go‚ all he wanted to do would be to carry the coffin.
"The funeral is an ANC thing; he died an ANC member‚ an ANC councillor. But we are human beings and he was a brother. If I can carry his coffin I will know that I picked up the spear of economic freedom for our people‚" he said.
Seeing Magaqa's bullet-riddled car left me shocked: Malema
Malema was ANCYL leader and Magaqa the secretary-general in 2012 when the organisation was disbanded‚ and the two remained close friends despite belonging to different parties.
Magaqa and two fellow ANC councillors from the Umzimkhulu Municipality - who are both still in hospital - were attacked in the southern KwaZulu-Natal town on July 13 as they got out of the car to go to a shop. He was recovering in hospital‚ but died on Monday after complaining of stomach pains.
On Friday‚ Malema was shown the vehicle Magaqa and his colleagues were in during the ambush. He said that seeing the bullet-riddled Mercedes-Benz SUV left him shocked and wondering how his friend survived the attack.
"It was so scary. The intention was to kill him instantly‚" he told TimesLIVE on Saturday‚ a day after he visited the Magaqa family home in Ibisi‚ Umzimkhulu.
"They found 65 cartridges there. How do you open fire with 65 bullets and you still don't kill a single person? This is exactly what confirmed that the assassins are not well trained people. There is a suspicion that they are from hostel in Durban. They are given a basic thing of operating a rifle‚ but they don't know how to use it. It is not professionals. It's reckless murderers who are given R5‚000 each and they go and execute a mission on behalf of petty local politicians‚" he said.
Malema also admitted that the "volatile" conditions in Umzimkulu means he might not be able to attend next week's funeral. The funeral was pushed back a week after Magaqa's mother collapsed and had to be taken to hospital. While she was discharged on Wednesday‚ she was not well enough to make the funeral arrangements‚ hence the postponement.
"The intention has always been to go‚ but there is a continuous assessment being made to check if we will not be compromised. If conditions permit‚ I will go. It will be reckless to just go in without taking some security measures. When I went ‚ the only time realised I was there was when I was leaving‚" he said.
But if he did go‚ all he wanted to do would be to carry the coffin.
"The funeral is an ANC thing; he died an ANC member‚ an ANC councillor. But we are human beings and he was a brother. If I can carry his coffin I will know that I picked up the spear of economic freedom for our people‚" he said.
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