A kind and respectful man who served his community with integrity and purpose.
That was how Zwide residents and colleagues remembered ANC ward councillor Sicelo Mleve, who was shot dead on Saturday evening during a voter registration debriefing meeting with 10 residents at his offices in Zondeki Street.
The 45-year-old, who had a security team assigned to him by the municipality following previous threats on his life, died at the scene.
His security detail was off duty at the time of the incident.
Mvele is the second councillor in about a week to be murdered in the province after Wonele Gontshi was gunned down in Qumbu on June 13.
In Cape Town, community activist and DA by-election candidate Sinovuyo Dyokwe was shot dead after spending Saturday assisting with voter registration efforts.
Police spokesperson Captain Majola Nkohli said Mleve was murdered at about 6.50pm when two gunmen stormed the office while the meeting was under way.
“[The shooters] held the victims [about 10 people] at gunpoint and ordered everyone to hand over their cellphones,” Nkohli said.
“One of the [gunmen] fired upon a 45-year-old man, inflicting multiple gunshot wounds, before fleeing the scene.
“The [councillor] was declared deceased at the scene.”
A Herald team visited the eerily quiet scene on Sunday morning where two police officers were standing at the gate.
Two shell casings were visible in the street.
A resident, who did not want to be named, said everything had happened quickly.
“We heard the gunshots — there were four.
“Before they left, they shot two more times in the street as a warning to all of us to stay inside.
“We knew Sicelo.
“He always greeted us when he came to the office and he was a friendly, respectful young man.”
A 61-year-old resident said the sound of gunfire outside her home had brought back painful memories of her son, 24, who was shot outside the same offices in November.
“We came back from my other son’s funeral and when we arrived here he was shot.
“I lost two sons that week.”
Her neighbour, 58, decried the scourge of gun violence in Ward 27.
“If I could ask for anything and it would be a miracle, I would want us to get rid of all guns but is it even possible to live in a society without guns?”
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe expressed profound sadness at the murder of another councillor.
“It has a left deep emptiness in our hearts and in all those who knew him and worked alongside him in the movement,” she said.
“We are devastated by this horrific incident.
“Councillor Mleve was serving his community and engaging residents on matters affecting their daily lives when his life was cruelly cut short.
“We extend our deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, colleagues and the entire Ward 27 community during this painful time.
“Comrade Sicelo Mleve was a loyal servant of the people and committed comrade of the African National Congress.
“Throughout his life he dedicated himself to the ideals of freedom, justice and a better life for all.
“The people have lost a faithful servant, a good man.
“The entire ANC family stands with the family during this difficult time.
“We grieve with you, we pray with you and we will be present throughout this period.”
Lobishe said Mleve had been aware of a possible threat recently, and though he had a security team assigned to him, they were not on duty on Saturday.
“There was a case opened around the threats he was receiving as a ward councillor.
“During this period [at the weekend] he was not under any security so that’s why he was exposed.
“All of us have a right to live and we are not going to fear.
“We will walk in the streets again and we will do what we need to do, and those who think they want to claim the streets through criminality must know that we are also going to fight for the right of freedom.”
Lobishe was set to hold a meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the rollout of CCTV cameras in every councillor’s office.
“We cannot afford to lose another councillor.
“One life is too many.
“The amount of work that is done by councillors can never be equal to any financial burden to the city, so if the city must make sure that they are fully secured, let’s get to that.
“We are going to make sure safety is tightened up.”
Nelson Mandela Bay regional executive committee head Siphiwo Tshaka said the incident could have been a hit.
“The leadership of the branch were part of a meeting to assess what happened on day one [of voter registration].
“It is possible that it was a hit.
“Those who were there in the meeting said the men asked for the councillor and directly shot at him and left everyone else in the room, which means that they were there for him.
“We are monitoring the space, interacting with the branch leadership and volunteers of the ANC in Ward 27, and we are giving space to the family to interact with the situation and we are engaging with the family.”
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Zolile Williams also condemned the murder of Mvele, who was a regional executive committee member of the ANC in the Bay.
“The spectre of political and contract killings is haunting the local government space and is casting a dark shadow over our communities,” he said.
“The law enforcement agencies must leave no stone unturned until the assassins are captured, arrested and prosecuted.”
Former ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe also spoke highly of the former regional secretary of the ANC Youth League in the Nelson Mandela Bay region.
“My own memories of Sicelo are deeply etched in my mind,” Mabe said.
“When I was deployed as treasurer-general to assist the Eastern Cape in preparing for its provincial conference, we often found ourselves on opposite sides of difficult organisational and political questions.
“Sicelo was never one to retreat from a sincerely held conviction.
“It is therefore particularly painful that a life defined by activism, service, commitment and sacrifice has been cut short in such a sudden and tragic manner.”
ANC NEC member Andile Lungisa also remembered Mleve from their days in the youth league together and described the killing as barbaric.
“There is no way that a person who is in his office should get killed by criminals.
“People know that Sicelo lived an honest life, he was always open, he would never whisper, he would speak openly on any issue.
“Whether you agreed or disagreed with him he would always be open and committed to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“It cannot be allowed that criminals are running Nelson Mandela Bay.
“It is very painful what happened to Sicelo.
“What has happened is pure criminality.
“All the comrades in Nelson Mandela Bay must act against criminality.”
Transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha said he was deeply outraged and appalled by the murder and extended condolences to the family, while calling on the police to move swiftly in arresting the perpetrators.
Nkohli said police were investigating a case of murder and a search had been launched for the shooters.
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