Corruption has reached abominable and deadly levels

It would be sheer naivety to regard the assassination of newly appointed Ekurhuleni divisional head of corporate and forensic audits Mpho Mafole merely as senseless.

- 

What is senseless is why society, and in particular the government, has let the situation descend to such despicable levels.

Mafole died on Monday after he found himself on the end of a hail of bullets that left no doubt that whoever carried out the dastardly and cowardly act wanted to make sure that he stood no chance of escaping with his life.

Mafole joined the City of Ekurhuleni as chief auditor just three months ago, at the beginning of April, from the Auditor-General of SA, where he had worked for 15 years. He must have hit the ground running in his assignment to help root out corruption in the metro to produce a report that he handed in to the executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza.