LIMPOPO Premier Stan Mathabatha on Friday, 22 July, visited the home of slain Collins Chabane Municipality Mayor Moses Maluleke (56).
Maluleke was gunned down at his home in Saselamani Village outside Malamulele on the night of Thursday, 21 July and his 18-year-old son was wounded.
This after three men entered his house and demanded money, said police.
Mathabatha said he was saddened by his death and said Maluleke will go down in history as one of the champions of development and service delivery.
“We are sleeping with heavy hearts after criminals robbed our province by senselessly killing one of our own,” he said.
He urged law enforcement agencies to do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators of this gruesome killing to book.
“On behalf of the provincial government, we send our sincere condolences to the Maluleke family, relatives, the African National Congress, and the municipal community at large,” said Mathabatha.
He also wished Maluleke’s 18-year-old son a speedy recovery.
Mathabatha was accompanied by members of his executive council, including the provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe.
The national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has also directed Hadebe to mobilise maximum resources to apprehend those responsible for the murder of Maluleke.
The ANC in Limpopo has also condemned the brutal incident.
Provincial spokesman Jimmy Machaka said they also call upon law enforcement agencies to investigate this senseless killing and to bring to justice those found to be on the wrong side of the law.
“The passing on of comrade Maluleke is a great loss to the ANC and the broader liberation movement, the people of Limpopo and in particular the people of Collins Chabane. The ANC has lost a dedicated and disciplined leader, an embodiment of the revolutionary sacrifice. He sacrificed his entire life to the liberation movement,” he said.
READ: BREAKING: Mayor ‘Big Moss’ gunned down!
Machaka said Maluleke was always an exemplary leader who was loyal to the ANC, who executed his political and deployment tasks with diligence and distinction. He said his progressive role in the organisation and in the Collins Chabane Municipality will never be forgotten.
Maluleke became mayor in 2018.
Affectionately known as “Big Moss”, he entrenched his career within the structures of the Mass Democratic Movement since the 90s, capably grounding himself within community structures in the region.
At the time of his passing, he was serving as the ANC’s Vhembe regional deputy secretary and Limpopo South African Local Government Association deputy chairman.
His funeral date is yet to be announced.
