South African police have arrested a 44-year-old man in the Eastern Cape in connection with the murder of former Knysna executive mayor Aubrey Tsengwa. The Paper reported that the suspect was taken into custody during a takedown operation in Peddie on Friday, 6 November, by the South African Police Service's Political Killings Task Team.

The man, whom police described as a hitman, is due to appear before the Knysna Magistrate's Court on Monday, 9 November. He faces charges of murder and three counts of attempted murder. SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest, saying the task team's investigation had led officers to the Eastern Cape.

Tsengwa, 48, an African National Congress councillor and former executive mayor of Knysna, was fatally shot on 19 August while seated in a vehicle in Ngxalo Street in the Joodsekamp area of the town. Three other people in the car survived the attack.

The arrest is the latest development in a case that has already seen several suspects appear in court. Three men were charged in August after the shooting, and a fourth later handed himself over to police. Investigators have not announced a motive for Tsengwa's killing, and police have not said whether the shootings of two other ANC-linked men in Knysna the following night are connected.

The killing came amid wider concern over suspected political violence in the Western Cape. At least seven suspected political murders were reported in the province during the first nine months of 2026, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime recorded 43 people killed in 45 suspected political attacks across South Africa in the same period.