A SUSPECTED hitman believed to be linked to the assassination of former Knysna mayor Aubrey Tsengwa has been arrested in the Eastern Cape.
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The 44-year-old suspect was bust during a takedown operation in Peddie on Friday, 6 November, following an investigation by the South African Police Service’s Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
National police spokeswoman Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest on Sunday, 8 November.
“The PKTT-led investigation into the murder of former Knysna executive mayor Aubrey Tsengwa has led to the arrest of a 44-year-old hitman,” Mathe said.
She said investigators followed leads to Peddie, where the operation led to the suspect’s arrest.
Tsengwa was shot dead on 19 August 2026, while seated inside his vehicle in Joodsekamp, Knysna, Western Cape.
According to the initial police investigation, an unknown gunman approached the vehicle carrying Tsengwa and three passengers before opening fire and fleeing on foot.
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The 48-year-old former mayor sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his head and upper body and was declared dead at the scene.
Three other occupants survived the attack, although one passenger was shot in the arm and rushed to hospital.
Police initially opened a murder case and three counts of attempted murder while investigating the shooting. The motive wasn’t known at the time.
The latest arrest comes after several other suspects were brought before the Knysna Magistrates Court in connection with the killing.
Three men, Vusumzi Gungu (46), Thobelani Lakhe (39), and Lonwabo Faleni (33), were previously arrested in connection with the murder.
Their court proceedings have included charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder and attempted murder. The cases have continued through separate proceedings.
Gungu and Lakhe’s conspiracy case was postponed to 10 December for further investigation, as the state was still waiting for outstanding evidence, including ballistics results and cellphone records.
The latest 44-year-old suspect faces one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
He remains in police custody and is expected to appear in the Knysna Magistrates Court on Monday, 9 November.
Tsengwa’s turbulent political journey
Tsengwa’s killing brought renewed attention to political tensions in Knysna, where he had a turbulent political career.
He became executive mayor in August 2022 after the ANC, Patriotic Alliance, Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners and EFF joined forces to remove the DA-led mayoral leadership.
He won the mayoral vote 11 to 10.
However, his time in office was marked by several motions of no confidence.
In February 2025, the EFF and Knysna Independent Movement, both coalition partners, withdrew their support and removed him from the mayoral position.
He later resigned as Ward 8 councillor on 31 March 2025, before Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell could act on a special investigation into councillors’ political appointments, which the Western Cape High Court had found to be illegal.
The ANC suspended Tsengwa in April 2025, accusing him of undermining the party through his resignation and forcing an unnecessary by-election.
He was later nominated as the ANC’s Ward 8 candidate and won the by-election on 25 June 2025 with 52,12% of the vote.
His death also revived painful memories of political violence in the area.
Former ANC councillor, chief whip and mayoral candidate Victor Molosi was shot in the head near his home in Concordia in July 2018 while returning from a school governing body meeting.
The ANC’s Knysna regional structure was subsequently named after him.
The latest arrest is another development in the investigation into Tsengwa’s killing, with police continuing their efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding the attack.
