LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: FF Plus stands by its man as mayoral candidate’s apartheid-era murder conviction resurfaces

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.

Standing by their man

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.

‘Influenced and indoctrinated’

He said young police officers at the time had been influenced by the political and security environment in which they worked.

“As young police officers, we were influenced and indoctrinated within the police to regard the ANC, under the banner of the UDF, as the ‘enemy’,” Harington said.

“I do not use this as an excuse for what happened. I believe it is important context in understanding the world and circumstances in which we were operating at the time.”

Harington said he did not fire the shot that killed Jama, but accepted responsibility for his position as the section head.

“I do not seek today to justify what happened or to deny my responsibility for it,” he said.

His conviction led to his imprisonment, where he spent nearly 14 years.

“I entered prison as a 21-year-old young man and came out as a 34-year-old man,” he said.

“It was not easy. While I was there, I lost both of my parents. I could not say goodbye to them at their sickbeds, nor could I attend their funerals.”

After his release, Harington appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997 and sought amnesty for his role in Jama’s killing. The application was refused.

TRC apology

Harington said he apologised to Jama’s parents and family during the TRC proceedings.

“I did so because I believed I needed to confront them with the pain and loss caused by those events,” he said.

“I did not do this to explain away my past. I did it because I believe that a person must be prepared to accept responsibility for his actions, acknowledge the consequences and respect the pain of those affected by those events.”

The FF Plus says it took Harington’s past into account before allowing him to become a candidate.

Wessels said Harington initially worked for the party rather than standing as a candidate, allowing the party to assess his conduct over time.

“Initially, he was not a candidate for us. He worked for us first, and we wanted to assess his character, see if he had learned from — let’s call them — mistakes, and observe whether he showed remorse.

“Murder is wrong, and what happened cannot be justified. A person cannot be punished for their mistakes for the rest of their life.”

But he said the party concluded that Harington had been rehabilitated.

“He naturally feels deep remorse for his role in the events that unfolded,” Wessels said. “He also apologised to the victim’s parents during the TRC procesedings.”

Harington has since risen through the ranks of the FF Plus.

He is a serving Nelson Mandela Bay councillor, the party’s Eastern Cape provincial chairperson and a member of its Federal Executive. He is also the party’s first-nominated local government candidate in the metro for the 2026 election.

Harington said he accepted that his past would continue to be scrutinised as he sought public office.

“I accept that political opponents are entitled to investigate my past and ask questions about it. That is part of public life.

“Nobody can change my past. But neither should anyone erase the more than three decades of my life since then.

“My past is part of my story. It will always be part of it. But it is not the sum total of who I am today,” he said. DM