A former Knysna councillor and a taxi boss who was acquitted of plotting to assassinate ANC councillor Victor Molosi have been shot dead, one day after former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa was gunned down in his car.
Mandla Matiwane and Mandla Tyololo were killed in Bongani on Thursday night after gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in which they were travelling.
The double shooting followed the killing of Tsengwa, a ward 8 councillor and former Knysna executive mayor, who was shot in Joodsekamp on Wednesday night.
The three killings have raised concern in the Garden Route town, but police have not confirmed that the incidents are connected or that they were politically motivated.
Knysna executive mayor Thando Matika confirmed the latest shooting.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the two men, aged 47 and 48, were in a vehicle in Bongani when gunmen opened fire at about 9pm.
Detectives from the provincial Serious Violent Crimes unit have launched a manhunt. They are also investigating whether the latest shooting and the attack on Tsengwa are linked.
“The provincial serious violent crimes detective team that had been investigating another shooting incident in the area that had occurred on Wednesday evening involving a councillor in the area, has since been reinforced,” Potelwa said.
“The motive for both shootings remains the subject of the police investigation.”
No arrests have been made in either case.
Two Men Killed In Bongani
Matiwane and Tyololo were travelling together when the gunmen allegedly opened fire on their vehicle.
Police have not released details about the number of attackers, the type of vehicle used to escape or whether the victims had been followed before the shooting.
The forensic investigation will focus on the crime scene, the vehicle, ballistic evidence and any CCTV or witness accounts that may help identify the gunmen.
Detectives are expected to establish whether the attack was targeted, whether the victims were known to the attackers and whether the shooting was connected to local political or taxi-related disputes.
At this stage, no motive has been confirmed.
Matiwane previously served as a councillor after winning ward 7 for the ANC in the 2016 local government elections. Tyololo was the secretary of the Knysna Taxi Forum.
Their public roles and their links to the earlier Molosi murder case are likely to form part of investigators’ background work, but those connections do not prove a motive for the latest killings.
Tsengwa Shot A Day Earlier
The double shooting came less than 24 hours after Tsengwa was killed in Joodsekamp.
Tsengwa, 48, was driving home with three passengers when an unknown gunman allegedly approached the vehicle in Ngxalo Street at about 9.20pm on Wednesday.
Police said the gunman opened fire and fled on foot. Tsengwa was struck several times in the head and upper body and died at the scene.
One passenger was shot in the arm and taken to hospital.
Police are investigating one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack.
The motive has not been established and no arrests have been announced.
The shooting of a sitting ward councillor and former executive mayor has increased public concern, particularly because of the second attack involving two men with political and community connections the following evening.
However, the police investigation must still determine whether the timing reflects a direct connection or whether the incidents were separate acts of violence.
Who Was Aubrey Tsengwa?
Tsengwa served as Knysna’s executive mayor from August 2022 until February 2025, when the EFF and the Knysna Independent Movement, which had been coalition partners, removed him from office.
He resigned his council seat in March 2025 but returned to local politics after winning ward 8 in a by-election in June that year.
Tsengwa remained an ANC councillor at the time of his death. His ward included the Concordia area, where Victor Molosi was killed in 2018.
The links between the ward, the ANC and the previous Molosi case have drawn attention to the political history surrounding the latest killings. Police have not said that Tsengwa’s political work was connected to his death.
The investigation is expected to consider his movements, contacts and any possible threats, while avoiding conclusions that have not been supported by evidence.
Victor Molosi Assassination Case
Molosi was an ANC ward 8 councillor and the party’s Knysna mayoral candidate when he was murdered in July 2018.
He was shot in the head outside his home in Concordia after walking away from a school governing body meeting.
Tyololo was arrested weeks later and charged with conspiracy to have Molosi killed. He spent more than two years in custody before the Knysna Regional Court acquitted him on 25 August 2020.
The acquittal meant that the court found the State had not proved the charges against Tyololo beyond reasonable doubt. It did not establish that the broader murder investigation had been fabricated or that the people convicted in the separate murder trial were innocent.
Three other men were convicted of Molosi’s murder in December 2019. They were former ward 4 councillor Velile Waxa, former municipal official Mawande Makhala and Cape Town resident Vela Patrick Dumile.
Tyololo’s acquittal is now part of the background to his own death, but it does not establish that the current shooting was connected to the Molosi case.
Matiwane’s Role In The Trial
Matiwane was a State witness in the case against Tyololo.
He told the court that he and Tyololo had contested an ANC ward committee position in 2016 but remained on good terms after the contest.
Matiwane also testified that his relationship with Molosi had deteriorated after Molosi accused him of wanting him dead.
He wrote to the court opposing Tyololo’s release on bail, saying that it could put peace in the community at risk.
There is no indication in the current police statement that either Matiwane’s role as a witness or Tyololo’s acquittal has been identified as the motive for their deaths.
Investigators will have to determine whether the old case is relevant, whether new disputes had developed and whether the latest shooting was linked to local political, criminal or taxi-related activity.
Police Investigations Reinforced
Potelwa said the serious and violent crimes team that had been investigating Tsengwa’s killing was reinforced after the two men were shot in Bongani.
This means detectives working on the first case have been joined by additional investigators as police try to establish whether the attacks share suspects, weapons, vehicles or a motive.
Investigators may examine telephone records, surveillance footage, firearm evidence and information from people who were near the two crime scenes.
They may also speak to friends, relatives, political colleagues and taxi-industry contacts of the victims.
Police have urged people with information to come forward, but residents should not attempt to confront anyone they suspect of involvement.
Information should be provided through official police channels so that it can be assessed and acted on safely.
Concern In Knysna
The shootings have placed the safety of political representatives and community figures under renewed scrutiny.
Councillors often work closely with residents on issues involving housing, transport, service delivery and local disputes. Taxi leaders may also have influence over transport routes and associations, which can make them important figures in local communities.
Those public roles can make targeted attacks particularly damaging, but the identities or positions of the victims should not be treated as proof of motive.
The murders have also raised questions about whether local law-enforcement resources are sufficient to investigate multiple serious shooting cases at the same time.
The reinforced detective team will be expected to provide answers about the sequence of events and whether the three shootings form part of a wider pattern.
For now, police have confirmed only that the cases are being investigated and that the possibility of a connection is being examined.
No Arrests Yet
No arrests have been made in the killings of Tsengwa, Matiwane or Tyololo.
The lack of arrests does not mean investigators have no leads. Police may be waiting for forensic results, witness statements or additional intelligence before making an arrest.
Any suspect arrested will have the right to legal representation and a fair trial. The families of the victims, meanwhile, will have to wait for the investigation to establish who was responsible and why the attacks happened.
The motive for both latest shootings remains under investigation, and police have not confirmed whether the cases are connected.
