Cape Town - The Stellenbosch deputy mayor has been arrested, along with his wife, for their alleged involvement in a 2019 murder.
The murder is believed to be politically motivated.
Stellenbosch Municipality spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar said the municipality has been made aware that an office bearer was taken into custody by the police.
Grobbelaar said the individual has not yet appeared in court to enter a plea, and that the charges remained unknown.
"The municipality will only be in a position to release an official statement once this has happened," he said.
Police spokesperson colonel Andrè Traut said Stellenbosch detectives, relentless in their pursuit, concluded their investigation into the murder of ex-Stellenbosch deputy mayor Cameron Mcako, 56, which resulted in the arrest of three suspects last night.
Traut said in what was believed to be a politically motivated killing, Mcako was shot and wounded at his Kayamandi tavern on November 1, 2019 and died two days later in hospital.
He said the thorough investigation led detectives to a husband and wife, aged 56 and 46, and a third male suspect, aged 48, who were scheduled to make their court appearance in Stellenbosch on Thursday on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
“Police management in the province congratulates the detectives for their diligence in pursuing the case so that the perpetrators can see their day in a court of law,” said Traut.
DA Western Cape interim provincial leader Albert Fritz said the party had noted the arrest of the Stellenbosch deputy mayor. He was arrested on Tuesday on an alleged charge of murder.
“The party views this allegation in a very serious light. We await further information on the matter and will communicate further upon receiving the outcome of both the internal, as well as external legal processes,” said Fritz. | sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za