A municipality boss who was always under attack was shot dead on duty with his bodyguards

Many people have tried to have Nceba Ncunyana, director of Buffalo City Metro Infrastructure, killed. After failing on every other day, his assailants were eventually successful on Wednesday.

Ncunyana and his bodyguards were riding in a Toyota Fortuner when they came under fire from a van carrying the accused. Ncunyana was killed after being shot multiple times.

Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli, the police force’s official spokesman, stated, “the police can confirm that they are investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.” Killing attempts against him started in 2017. Ncunyana allegedly received a “shocking text” in 2017 demanding his resignation within five days and threatening “severe punishment” if he did not. This was revealed in a Facebook post from last August.

You are aware of the circumstances behind your hiring, thus we ask that you kindly resign. No answer when I called, sorry. Leave me alone and I’ll give you a call. The message to Ncunyana said, “If you refuse to resign, I will make a plan… it will hurt you a lot.”

As events unfolded, Ncunyana’s life was in imminent danger. A group of five armed men broke into Ncunyana’s home and business below the market in 2021, demanding money or they would kill him if he didn’t comply. Ncunyana withdrew into hiding after making the deal with the guys. The assassins, who fled with an undisclosed sum of money, were filmed on surveillance cameras.

Ncunyana, who was acting mayor at the time, was shot and wounded in the arm by assassins driving a Volkswagen Polo in August of last year. The South African Local Government Association (Salga) issued a statement of condemnation and horror after learning of Ncunyana’s death. The growing number of attacks on local government employees has prompted Salga to express its alarm.

In light of the gravity of the situation, Samkelo Ngwenya, the municipality’s official spokesperson, has declined to any further comment.