Mpumalanga cops hunt for armed gang after ANC councillor killed in home robbery

ANC councillor Thabo Ngwenya was shot in a home invasion in Mpumalanga this week. He died in hospital. Picture: Facebook

ANC councillor Thabo Ngwenya was shot in a home invasion in Mpumalanga this week. He died in hospital. Picture: Facebook

Published Apr 3, 2024

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An African National Congress (ANC) councillor has been killed following an armed robbery at his home in Mangweni, in Mpumalanga.

According to police, four armed, balaclava-clad men entered Thabo Ngwenya's home on Tuesday evening.

"They shot a male victim, aged 35, twice and then assaulted his wife before robbing them of their charcoal Toyota bakkie," said provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

He said Ngwenya was rushed to hospital by private transport and succumbed to his injuries a short while later.

"The motive for the killing is not yet established. No one has been arrested as yet and the police are hard at work to ensure that suspects are sought and apprehended," Mdhluli said.

ANC spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Sasekani Manzini said the party was shocked to hear about the councillor’s demise.

Ngwenya's murder comes just weeks after an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) ward councillor was gunned down in KwaZulu-Natal. Police said Ndukendle Duma and four children were shot in the hit. Two of the children, aged 11 and 12, succumbed to their wounds.

National police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the task team for political killings was deployed to the province to investigate the killings. Duma was ambushed along the R618 in Nongoma while attending to a vehicle breakdown.

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