A senior manager in the Infrastructure department at Mangaung Metro Municipality was shot and killed while leaving work in Mangaung, Free State, on Wednesday afternoon.
Captain Lorraine Earle, spokesperson for the South African Police Service (SAPS), reported that the victim was driving out of the parking lot just before 4 PM when he came under gunfire.
“He was in his vehicle with a colleague when an unidentified shooter approached and allegedly fired at the driver’s side,” Earle stated.
Police found four empty cartridges near the vehicle. The 48-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while his colleague, though unharmed, received treatment for shock.
The police are investigating the murder but had not made any arrests by Friday morning.
This incident follows another similar case from September 2023, where Khumbulani Khumalo, manager of Community Services in the eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Department, was shot dead while in a government vehicle in Inanda, north of Durban. Reports indicated that Khumalo suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
Political parties within the municipality have called for a comprehensive investigation into the murder, with the then-mayor of eThekwini, Mxolisi Kaunda, urging law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice.
