The EFF in Gauteng has welcomed the arrest of a second suspect in the murder of party member Monica Dube, but says the investigation must go beyond those allegedly involved in carrying out the shooting and establish who planned or commissioned her assassination.
The party said the latest arrest was an important development but warned that the investigation should not end with the identification of alleged perpetrators.
Dube, 44, a former EFF secretary in Tshwane’s Region 2, was shot dead at her home in Wallmannsthal, Tshwane, in June in the presence of her family.
The Gauteng Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) arrested a 39-year-old man on Tuesday evening following an intelligence-driven investigation.
According to SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, investigators had positively linked the suspect to Dube’s murder. He was expected to appear in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 7 October, facing a charge of murder.
EFF Gauteng provincial leader Nkululeko Dunga said the party welcomed the arrest and commended the PKTT for continuing to pursue those responsible for Dube’s death.
But Dunga said the arrest raised the need for investigators to establish the full circumstances surrounding the killing.
“From the beginning, the EFF has maintained that the murder of Fighter Monicca could not have been the work of one individual acting alone,” Dunga said.
The party wants investigators to establish whether anyone participated in, facilitated or allegedly orchestrated the killing.
EFF also called for anyone who may have ordered, financed or facilitated the assassination to be brought before the courts.
The latest arrest follows the July arrest of Sipho Mahlangu, who remains in custody.
Mahlangu has appeared several times in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court and abandoned his bail application.
The State alleges that Mahlangu and another man broke into Dube’s home through a window during the early hours of 13 June. It further alleges that the men entered her bedroom and that Dube was shot in the head while her children were present.
Her cellphone was allegedly taken during the incident.
Mahlangu was arrested after Dube’s daughter allegedly recognised him at a taxi rank on 4 July and alerted police.
His matter was previously postponed for further investigations.
The EFF’s latest statement has also placed renewed focus on an earlier attack in which Dube survived after being shot.
According to reports at the time, Dube was shot 11 times during an earlier attack in March and spent weeks in intensive care before recovering.
The party said her previous survival and subsequent murder meant investigators should examine the circumstances surrounding both attacks.
However, police have not publicly confirmed that the earlier shooting and Dube’s murder were connected, nor have authorities publicly established a motive for her killing.
The EFF said it would continue monitoring the case and supporting the Dube family throughout the court process.
“We want justice in its entirety,” Dunga said, calling for no loose ends and no protection for anyone who may be implicated.
The demand comes against the backdrop of a wider pattern of politically linked killings in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where political violence investigations have increasingly focused on identifying not only alleged gunmen but those who may have commissioned attacks.
The PKTT was established to investigate politically motivated killings and related cases.
For the Dube family, the second arrest marks another development in a case that began with a fatal attack at their home and followed an earlier attempt on her life.
The EFF said the latest arrest should be viewed as a step towards establishing the complete truth.
“The memory of Fighter Monica Dube demands nothing less than the arrest and prosecution of everyone responsible for her assassination,” the party said.
The investigation remains ongoing, and any allegation that a person ordered, financed or facilitated Dube’s killing would have to be established through evidence and tested in court.
