Leadership of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at the Dube hostel in Soweto has firmly denied any involvement in a shooting incident yesterday that left three Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party officials wounded, one of whom later died from injuries.
The MK party claims its members were at the hostel for a planned recruitment drive when they were ambushed by IFP members. The violent altercation resulted in three MK members being shot. One of the victims succumbed to their injuries.
From the scene, a reporter provided further details, including an allegation from the MK party that the hostel’s electricity was deliberately cut off to disrupt their recruitment activities. This allegation was strongly refuted by the hostel’s Indunas, or community leaders, who questioned how they would even have access to the electrical boxes to cause such a disruption.
An Induna, who spoke on behalf of the hostel leadership, elaborated on the hostel’s protocols. He stated that the Indunas had no prior knowledge of the MK party’s planned event. According to established rules, any visitor to the hostel must first present themselves to the Induna and state the purpose of their visit—a procedure the MK members allegedly did not follow.
The Induna further denied the specific allegation about the electricity being cut, stating that the Indunas do not possess the keys or the means to switch off the power.
While the Indunas, represented by Babela, have spoken on behalf of the local hostel leadership, the IFP political leadership at the hostel is expected to issue a formal statement later. They are the group directly accused by the MK party of carrying out the ambush.
The incident is expected to prompt further discussions among stakeholders as investigations into the fatal shooting continue.