Eastern Cape Councillor Shot Dead at Home After Alleged Argument With 2 Men
- A 63-year-old Mbhashe Local Municipality councillor was killed at his home in Bende on Friday evening
- Two suspects arrived at Ernest Fipaza's home before the confrontation turned deadly, leaving police scrambling
- The Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner has ordered additional resources as a specialised task team takes over the case
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EASTERN CAPE - Police in the Eastern Cape are hunting two suspects following the fatal shooting of a local councillor at his home in the Taleni Administrative Area outside Dutywa on Friday, 24 October 2026.
Ernest Fipaza, 63, who served on the Mbhashe Local Municipality council, was killed at his Bende home at roughly 19:30 when two men arrived at his property.
Altercation leads to fatal shooting
A verbal altercation reportedly broke out between the men and Fipaza, which escalated into a physical confrontation. One of the suspects then produced a firearm and shot the councillor, killing him at the scene.
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After the shooting, the two men allegedly turned their attention to Fipaza's son, pointing firearms at him and demanding his father's gun. The son directed the suspects to a safe inside the house. They broke it open but left empty-handed after finding no firearm inside, before fleeing the property.
See X post on the incident here:
Police urge public to come forward with information
Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Vuyisile Ncata condemned the killing and deployed additional investigative resources to support the probe. A dedicated task team from the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Investigation Unit has since been assigned to the case.
Police are pursuing charges of murder and house robbery. No arrests have been made, and the two suspects remain at large.
Members of the public with information relevant to the investigation are urged to contact the investigating team directly on 071 475 2292, or to call Crime Stop on 08600 10111. Tips may also be submitted anonymously.
IFP candidate shot dead at home
In similar news, the Inkatha Freedom Party confirmed the killing of James Mabaso, one of its candidates for the upcoming local government elections, who was found shot dead at his home in Emakhasana village, Pomeroy, in the Msinga area of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The incident happened after another IFP councillor, Lucky Sokhela, was killed on 1 September 2026 in KwaSwayimani.
Mabaso's death was the third in a string of fatal shootings targeting IFP candidates within the province in a single month. The previous week, two separate incidents claimed the lives of ward councillor candidates in different municipalities.
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Source: Briefly News
