LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: FF Plus stands by its man as mayoral candidate’s apartheid-era murder conviction resurfaces
The Freedom Front Plus says Bill Harington should not be punished for the rest of his life over a murder conviction dating back more than three decades.
Nelson Mandela Bay Freedom Front Plus councillor Bill Harington says he accepts that his past will remain under scrutiny as he seeks to lead the metro — but he and his party have questioned why his more than three-decade-old murder conviction has suddenly become relevant again.
Harington, who was convicted of the murder of ANC activist Mbongeni Jama and spent almost 14 years in prison, said the FF Plus had known about his conviction since he first joined the party.
“The party knew about my past,” Harington said in a statement to Daily Maverick on Sunday. “My past is not a secret.”
The FF Plus announced Harington as its mayoral candidate earlier this month, and News24 over the weekend reported on his past conviction and his bid to become mayor .
The party has stood squarely behind Harington, with FF Plus MP and chairperson Wouter Wessels questioning why his long-known criminal record has suddenly become an issue in the run-up to the local government election.
“I find it interesting that this is making headlines now. With all due respect, the only conclusion I can draw is that our opponents are threatened by us,” Wouter told Daily Maverick.
He accused political opponents of going looking for information that had never been hidden “just to turn it into a story now to discredit us”.
Harington was 21 when he was involved in the 1991 killing of Jama in KwaZulu-Natal.
He was a young police officer and section head of a team of young Inkatha special constables. One of the constables under his command shot Jama, using a shotgun at close range.
Harington did not pull the trigger, but was convicted of murder based on his role as the section head.
He was initially sentenced to eight years in prison. The sentence was later increased to 18 years on appeal, and he ultimately spent 13 years and 10 months behind bars.
Looking back on the events more than three decades later, Harington says the killing changed his life.
“I was a 21-year-old young police officer when this event changed my life irrevocably,” he said.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.dailymaverick.co.za — the content belongs to Daily Maverick.
