By Simon Nare
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Political Killings Task Team has re-arrested the former municipal manager of the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality in connection with the murder of former ANC Youth League Secretary-General Sindiso Magaqa.
The 55-year-old suspect was re-arrested earlier today in Malvern, Durban.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday, linking the suspect to Magaqa’s murder.
This latest development follows a 2018 arrest, when the former municipal manager was initially detained alongside the late Umzimkhulu Mayor, a local businessman, two former police officers, and a known hitman, Sbusiso Ncengwa.
“He [the municipal manager] was previously arrested in 2018 alongside the late Mayor of the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality, a businessman, two former police officers, and a hitman. The hitman, Sbusiso Ncengwa was convicted to 25 years imprisonment on 07 July 2025,” said Mathe.
The re-arrest comes amid renewed momentum in the case, spurred by explosive revelations made by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who recently exposed corruption and political interference within the police service.
His revelations led to the suspension of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, while Deputy Commissioner for Crime Detection Shadrack Sibiya was placed on special leave pending an internal SAPS investigation into corruption allegations.
Further damning evidence emerged in a leaked voice note by Ncengwa, in which he implicated several individuals in the Magaqa killing, reviving scrutiny over unresolved political assassinations in the province.
The former municipal manager, who can’t be named until he appears in court, is expected in the Umzimkhulu Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
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