South African official and World Cup whistleblower killed

According to a local statement, Mohlala, the former vice-president of the South African Football Association and his 19 year-old son were attacked by three men, in front of Mohlala's home in the city of Nielspruit in the South African province Mpumalanga. The three men escaped after shooting both father and son. Jimmy Mohlala died on his way to the hospital, his son is recovering.

In February last year, Mohlala fell out with the African National Congress (ANC) when he exposed irregularities concerning construction tenders for the Nelspruit 2010 stadium, Mbombela. The revelations by Mohlala led to a report by independent lawyers, according to which a municipality manager had led wide-ranging misconduct in relation to contracts regarding 2010. 

Since Mohlala exposed the alleged corruption, the ANC has been calling for his resignation, but Mohlala has refused to step down. The ANC was in the process of taking disciplinary actions against him when he was killed.

COPE, a newly founded political party, comprised mainly of defectors from the ANC, condemns the murder on their Mbombela municipal website and calls for a specialised unit to investigate corruption in the municipalities, which they find to be extensive. 

They also urge the police to look into the possible political reasons for the murder of Mohlala, pointing out that Mohlala had had another controversy with the ANC in December. According to COPE, Mohlala refused an instruction to convene a council meeting to increase the Mayoral Committee of Mbombela Municipality and abolish the position of the Deputy Mayor.

The police in Mpumalanga are without clues to who committed the murder but are considering political motives for the killing, as robbery did not appear to be the motive according to allAfrica.com. “We are not ruling out that the murder could be politically motivated,” a police spokesperson said to news24.com.

Last year Mohlala received death threats via SMS, says Afrikaans daily Beeld newspaper.

Related links:

• ANC in stadium cover-up, Mail & Guardian, SA
• COPE saddened by the death of former Mbombela Speaker Jimmy Mohlala, COPE Mpumalanga information centre website
• Ex-speaker's murder political?, news24.com, SA