Knysna killings: ex-councillor and taxi boss shot dead after former mayor’s murder

Police in Knysna are hunting gunmen after two men were shot dead in Bongani on Thursday night, one day after the killing of a former mayor. The victims were a former councillor and the secretary of the local taxi forum, both of whom had been involved in a high-profile murder trial years earlier.

What happened in Bongani

Mandla Matiwane and Mandla Tyololo were killed while in a vehicle in Bongani when gunmen opened fire at about 9pm on Thursday, police said. The two men were aged 47 and 48.

Police response and investigation

Knysna executive mayor Thando Matika confirmed the shooting. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said detectives from the provincial serious violent crime unit had launched a manhunt and were looking at whether the two shootings were connected.

“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, police said.

Background: links to earlier murder case

Matiwane won ward 7 for the ANC in the 2016 local government elections and served on the Knysna council. Tyololo was the secretary of the Knysna Taxi Forum.

The two men had stood on opposite sides of the case that followed the 2018 killing of ANC ward 8 councillor and mayoral candidate Victor Molosi. Molosi was shot in the head outside his Concordia home in July 2018.

Tyololo was arrested weeks after Molosi’s killing and charged with conspiring to have him killed. He spent more than two years in custody before the Knysna Regional Court acquitted him on 25 August 2020. Matiwane was a state witness at that trial.

At the trial, Matiwane said he and Tyololo had contested an ANC ward committee position in 2016 and that his relationship with Molosi had soured after Molosi accused him of wanting him dead. Matiwane also wrote to the court opposing Tyololo’s release on bail, saying it would put peace in the community at risk.

Three men were convicted of Molosi’s murder in December 2019. They were named in court as former ward 4 councillor Velile Waxa, former municipal official Mawande Makhala and Vela Patrick Dumile.

Wednesday night killing of former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa

The Bongani shootings occurred a day after former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa was shot dead in Joodsekamp on Wednesday night. Police reported that Tsengwa, aged 48, was shot in Ngxalo Street at about 9.20pm while driving home with three passengers in the car.

Police said a gunman walked up to the vehicle, opened fire and ran off on foot. Tsengwa was hit 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 a charge of murder and three counts of attempted murder in that case.

Tsengwa had served as Knysna’s executive mayor from August 2022 until he was removed by coalition partners in February 2025. He won ward 8 back in a by-election in June 2025 after resigning the seat in March 2025.

Next steps

Detectives from the provincial serious violent crimes unit have been reinforced in the area and are investigating both shootings, including whether they are linked. Police have not reported any arrests.