AMCU briefing on NWest death

 

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will hold a briefing in Johannesburg on Monday about the death of one of its leaders in North West.

 

North West regional organiser Mawethu Khululekile Stevens, 46, was shot dead at a tavern in Photsaneng, in Nkaneng, on Saturday.

 

Amcu said the briefing would be held in Morningside at 11am.

 

Stevens was one of three people killed in the Nkaneng informal settlement in Marikana, outside Rustenburg, at the weekend.

 

North West police said on Monday that no violence was reported there overnight.

 

Two brothers were shot dead and two women were wounded in Nkaneng on Saturday, said Brigadier Thulani Ngubane.

 

He said the police were shot at on their way to the murder scene.

 

"There were a lot of people gathered there and some started shooting at police and police responded [by firing live ammunition]. We have not received any reports of casualties."

 

Ngubane said the shooting had been reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

 

He said a group of armed men, wrapped in blankets and wearing balaclavas, stormed into a shack on Saturday night and asked the twin brothers inside where another man was.

 

The brothers were shot when they said they did not know the man.

 

"The one brother, who was shot two times, died on the scene, while the other brother died on arrival at the Andrew Saffy [Memorial] Hospital."

 

Two women, who were in the shack at the time, were injured.

 

One was shot and wounded in the thigh, and the other was hacked with a panga. They were taken to hospital and were discharged on Sunday.

 

Branch secretary Gaddafhi Mdoda said workers at Anglo American Platinum would hold a meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the murders and planned retrenchments.

 

"There will be a meeting at each shaft between 1pm and 2pm. The workers are angry about the murder of our comrade," he said.

 

He claimed it appeared hitmen were being hired to kill Amcu members.

 

He said it had not yet been confirmed whether the two brothers killed in Nkaneng were Amcu members.

 

"We are verifying whether they are our members. We should know by this afternoon," he said.

 

- Sapa