MK Party regional organiser shot dead in KwaZulu-Natal ahead of elections - IOL

The MK Party is mourning the killing of its regional organiser, Lastborn Shazi, who was shot dead at his homestead in Umzumbe, KwaZulu-Natal, on Monday night.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s regional organiser, Lastborn Shazi, was shot dead at his homestead in Umzumbe, KwaZulu-Natal, on Monday night, while attending a virtual meeting to prepare for the local government elections.

The party’s provincial spokesperson, Mkhuseli Mlangana, said there were no leads in the case and urged members to avoid speculation while police investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing.

“We would like to send our condolences to the family of Comrade Lastborn. As of now, there are no details that we know as far as the circumstances around the killing of Comrade Lastborn. And we are trying to avoid speculation,” Mlangana told the public broadcaster on Tuesday morning.

He said the party had appealed to its members not to speculate, given KwaZulu-Natal’s history of political killings.

“Hence, we have called our members to come and avoid speculation so that we allow the police to do investigations.”

“You would know the history of KwaZulu-Natal around the killing matters. So we don't want to fuel anything with speculation. As and when we receive information as to what really transpired, we'll then communicate in accordance with that,” he said.

Asked whether there were any witnesses to the shooting, Mlangana said the party was not aware of any.

He said the party received news of the shooting shortly after 9 pm on Monday.

“Yesterday, around 9pm, we received the news that there was a shooting in his homestead because at that time he was in a meeting with the regional elections team, of course preparing for the next day of elections,” Mlangana said.

He said Shazi suddenly stopped participating in the meeting, after which those attending received a call informing them of the shooting.

“Immediately after that, they received a call, so we sent a team to our leaders there to go and see what transpired. That is when they were met with the news that our comrade is no more,” he said.

The circumstances surrounding the killing remain unclear.

Shazi’s killing comes as special voting takes place on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s 2026 local government elections.

A total of 2,655,067 voters have been approved for special voting.

This includes people who cannot reach voting stations because of physical infirmity or disability, as well as registered voters who will be unable to vote in their wards on election day.

Of those approved, 678,525 voters will receive home visits, while 1,976,542 will cast their ballots at their registered voting stations.

Gauteng has the highest number of approved special voters, at 480,721, followed by the Eastern Cape with 401,971 and KwaZulu-Natal with 348,971.

Meanwhile, 29.2 million registered voters are expected to participate in the 2026 local government elections on Wednesday.