Gqeberha Night Out Ends in Horror: Two Men Found Dead, Police Investigate Circumstances

• Two young Eastern Cape men who went missing after a night out in Gqeberha have been found dead
• The victims were identified following the discovery of their bodies and abandoned vehicle
• Eastern Cape police launched a murder investigation as circumstances remain unclear

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

EASTERN CAPE, GQEBERHA - Two young men who went missing after a night out in Gqeberha have been found shot dead, police in the Eastern Cape confirmed.

Two friends killed after night out

Sandile Ngoqo, aged 22, left his home in Sunridge Park on Thursday night, 16 April 2026, and drove to Greenshields Park to pick up his friend, Mazizi Ntshibilili, aged 19. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said the pair set off in Ngoqo's white Volkswagen Caddy, intending to visit Summerstrand, but later ended up at a tavern in Motherwell. They were not seen again after that. Beetge said Ntshibilili's body was discovered at about 5:30 am the following day in Mgwalana Street, NU6, Motherwell, with gunshot wounds to the head.

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He said Ngoqo's body was found later that morning, at about 10:30 am, next to the Swartkops River near Corobrik, with a gunshot wound to the back. Police also found the vehicle the men were travelling in abandoned in Ndlanzi Street, NU8, Motherwell, on the same day. Beetge said both victims were formally identified by their parents on Monday, 19 April 2026. Police have opened murder cases at Swartkops Police Station and Motherwell Police Station, and investigations are ongoing.

Other shooting incidents in SA

Two men were shot dead in a suspected drive-by shooting on the M1 Higginson Highway in Chatsworth on Saturday night, 18 April 2026. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene near the RK Khan's off-ramp at about 9:30 pm, where they found two men inside a stationary vehicle, both with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics assessed the victims but found no signs of life and declared them dead at the scene.

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A man has been shot and killed in Verulam, north of Durban, in a case that has left family members devastated and police investigating a possible murder. According to Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram, officers were dispatched to Estuary Drive in Riverview on Tuesday morning at approximately 06:22 after reports of a man lying unresponsive in the roadway.

A pregnant woman is in critical condition in hospital after she was shot during an incident at Port Edward Main Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. KwaZulu Private Ambulance Service responded to reports of a shooting at the beach parking area at about 22:30, where paramedics found a woman in her early 30s, who is four months pregnant, with a gunshot wound. The shooting allegedly followed a violent altercation that broke out during a romantic encounter inside a vehicle.

Source: Briefly News