SAfrican official who exposed 2010 graft killed JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -A senior South African official who blew the whistle on alleged corruption in a 2010 construction project has been shot dead, the South African Press Association reported Monday.
Jimmy Mohlala was shot outside his house in the eastern town of Nelspruit as he tried to run away from two gunmen, police spokesman Philip Fakhude told SAPA.
Mohlala's 19-year-old son was shot and wounded in what appears to be a botched carjacking. Fakhude, however, said the motive was not yet known and that police were not ruling out murder.
The 44-year-old Mohlala, the speaker of the Mbombela local municipality in Nelspruit, had been instrumental in exposing tender irregularities in the building of the town's 2010 World Cup stadium.
This led to the suspension of some senior officials in the municipality. The provincial government was forced to take over the management of preparations for the football tournament.
Early last year, the ruling African National Congress asked Mohlala to resign but he refused.
At the time of his murder, the party was in the process of taking disciplinary action against him, SAPA reported.
South Africa will host the continent's first World Cup but preparations have been bogged down by rising costs, construction delays and security concerns. South Africa has one of the worst murder rates in the world with at least 50 people being killed a day.
