Yet another ANC top official has been gunned down in the Mabopane/ Soshanguve area, Tshwane.
49-year-old George Moremi Tsoku was gunned down on the M17 highway in Soshanguve at around 11pm on Saturday night.
His assailants, who were driving a white Polo vehicle with no registration numbers, pumped 19 bullets into him before speeding away from the scene.
At the time that he was ambushed, Tsoku was dropping off one of his ANC comrades after the party’s election meeting in Mabopane.
Tsoku was a taxi owner and a subcontractor in the Klipgat Sewer project which is still under construction at the moment.
He was also an executive member of the Mabopane Winterveldt Ga-Rankuwa (Mawiga) branch of the ANC.
Those that knew the late Tsoku well described him as a humble and harmless person.
“The death of Comrade George Tsoku has caught us all by surprise and we are very hurt as such,” said ANC Tshwane Secretary George Matjila in a statement submitted to Tshwane Talks on Monday.
“Comrade Tsoku was a very quiet, hard-working individual who wouldn’t even hurt a fly,” said Matjila.
“We are calling upon law-enforcement agencies to attend to the areas north of Tshwane as many people continue to be affected by crime there,” he said.
“We request police to leave no stone unturned and ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to book,” he said.
The following is a list of the names of Councilors of the ANC who were shot and killed in the Mawiga area.
1. Tshepo Motaung (Ward 22 Mabopane Councilor) – shot and killed with a hail of 20 bullets in Mabopane on Heritage Day 24 September 2021
2.Siphiwe Montlha (Soshanguve Ward 37 Councilor) – succumbed to gunshot wounds in May 2018.
3. Esther Matumane (Ward 19 Winterveldt Councilor) – shot and killed at her home by unknown assailants
A source who wished to remain anonymous told Tshwane Talks that Ward 22 in Mawiga area, of which Tsoku was a resident, has become a war zone worse than Iraq in the Middle East.
“Wearing ANC regalia in this area is like signing one’s own death warrant,” said the source.
The source lamented the fact that the modus operandi for killing all the aforementioned ANC leaders in the area is the same.
“Fist it was Councilor Tshepo Motaung, then Num Mangani and now it’s Comrade Tsoku who was Voting District co-ordinator of Tsibogo area and a very active member of the ANC,” griped the source.
“Tsoku was well-respected and had humble leadership qualities,” said the source.
“We have lost faith in the law-enforcement agencies because Police Minister Bheki Cele can’t be trusted,” said the source, adding that it was time members of the community took the law upon themselves to hunt down the perpetrators of these gut-wrenching crimes.
The memorial service of the late George Tsoku was held at Leseding Hall (Mzansi Resort) on Thursday.