- Zulu Prince Mbongiseni Milton Muntukaphiwana Zulu has been described as a warm person and a voice of reason.
- Prince Mbongiseni was shot dead on Thursday.
- KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube called on provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to prioritise political murders.
Slain Prince Mbongiseni Milton Muntukaphiwana Zulu, a close ally of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, has been described as someone who had a warm personality, and who was a voice of reason in the royal family.
Prince Mbongiseni was shot dead at around 18:00 on Thursday in Nongoma. His bodyguard was wounded.
Lauding his work as a former member of parliament and councillor, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said the province would miss Prince Mbongiseni's "sense of humour and sense of cordiality".
"He was a voice of reason and often demonstrated his maturity and sense of proportion when dealing with matters of the royal family," she said, adding that he was a "warm and wonderful human being".
READ | Zulu prince and his bodyguard gunned down
She said those behind the killings wanted to sow seeds of division in the province, but added: "We call on the nation and the people of KwaZulu-Natal not to allow angels of doom to drive a wedge between our fellow citizens and to allow the police to get to the bottom of the matter."
Dube-Ncube called on provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to prioritise political murders.
IFP provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli described Prince Mbongiseni as "a leader in our party in his own right".
He added:
Ntuli said the IFP has been complaining that political killings were not being solved.
Apart from national task teams that the police minister speaks about, police need to be drastically capacitated to investigate assassinations, he said.
"We are not seeing the cases successfully investigated, and there are not enough arrests and convictions coming out of it. Our province is an unsafe province, particularly [for] politicians, amakhosi, and lately, even municipal officials."
"Suspects must be brought to book. That is the only thing that will stop these killings."
He described Prince Mbongiseni as "an open person who always displayed his heart".
This is the second confidant of King Misuzulu to be assassinated in recent months.
In September, Usuthu Traditional Council senior member, Dumisani Blasius Khumalo, was shot dead outside his home shortly after attending the reed dance in Nongoma.