South Africa: 43 political assassinations in nine months ahead of the November 4 municipal elections

At least 43 people have been killed in South Africa in suspected political assassinations between January 1 and September 30, 2026, one month before the local elections scheduled for November 4. The figure appears in the "Bullets and Ballots" report published on October 2, 2026, by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), a Geneva-based civil society organization, and reported by Africanews.

This is the highest annual toll since the organization began documenting this violence in 2015. In just nine months, it has already surpassed the full-year totals for 2021 (30 deaths), 2024 (33), and 2025 (31). The GI-TOC has recorded 45 politically motivated attacks during this period, within a broader set of 205 targeted murders documented since January.

KwaZulu-Natal remains on the front line

The KwaZulu-Natal province accounts for the majority of the attacks, a legacy of decades of local political violence. Gauteng, which houses Johannesburg, has recorded ten. According to the report cited by Africanews, thirteen victims were affiliated with the ANC and eight with the MK Party of former president Jacob Zuma, with the others distributed among various parties. The voter registration weekend of June 20 and 21, 2026, was one of the deadliest: six activists were shot dead across four provinces, according to the GI-TOC.

Municipal seats come at a high price

Behind these murders lies a well-documented mechanism: in many municipalities, a local mandate provides access to public contracts, jobs, and infrastructure budgets. A party nomination becomes a financial stake, and internal rivalries are sometimes settled by a hitman. The GI-TOC warns that "the most high-risk months" are still ahead as the competition intensifies.

This election is a major test for the continent's leading industrial economy, three years before the 2029 legislative elections and following the ANC's loss of its parliamentary majority in 2024. Voter exasperation over power cuts, crime, and corruption is fueling partisan competition—and with it, the risks. Defending the rights of Africans also means demanding that a citizen can stand before their voters without losing their life. Police investigations into these cases, which are often slow, will be the true barometer of the state's response.