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Cape Town – The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) has strongly condemned the killing of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) provincial secretary Chris Nkosi, who was shot and killed on Monday night in an alleged assassination.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the wanton killing of comrade Chris Nkosi and the petro bombing of comrade Dube’s house by whoever committed these heinous crimes,” the Numsa said in a statement.
Satawu president June Dube's home in Vosloorus was petrol bombed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“In Numsa we have consistently maintained that the unity of the working class is sacrosanct and no internal challenges and conflicts among and within the working class is worthy of using and promoting violence of any kind as a means to resolving problems.
“We are very worried and concerned that these violent and cowardly acts are happening at the backdrop of the ongoing implosion of Cosatu and the many internal problems affecting virtually all unions today,” the union said.
Infighting
The Congress of SA Trade Unions expressed shock at the attack on the two Satawu leaders.
The trade union federation has been trying to help Satawu deal with ongoing internal battles, at a time when Cosatu is also dealing with its own issues of infighting.
Satawu supports Sidumo Dlamini in the internal battles of the trade union federation that recently expelled its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
"At the moment, because these are both criminal acts we don't know who is behind this and what are the reasons behind it," Dlamini told News24 earlier on Tuesday.
"But, it happened at a time when the union is indeed dealing with issues of internal difference and tension..."
The bombing of Dube's house was not the first incident of its kind. Dlamini said the same thing had happened before to a Satawu leader in the Western Cape.
Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga told News24 the union was not ruling out the possibility that this was an assassination.
Vavi has been travelling around the country with Numsa speaking to workers. There is speculation that they were looking to establish a new trade union federation.
