Two-Time World Boxing Champion Zolani Tete Shot Dead Outside His Home in Mdantsane

Former two-division world champion boxer Zolani “Last Born” Tete was shot and killed in an ambush outside his home in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, on Friday evening, August 21, 2026. He was 38.

According to Eastern Cape police, Tete was sitting in his car with a 27-year-old female passenger, waiting for the gate to his residence in the NU17 area to open, when two armed suspects wearing balaclavas emerged from another vehicle and opened fire with multiple shots. In an attempt to escape, Tete drove into the yard but succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The woman sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized; her condition was not immediately detailed beyond remaining under medical care.

It is reported that the shooting occurred in the early evening, around 18:30. The suspects fled, and police launched a murder and attempted murder investigation. The motive remains unclear.

On Saturday, August 22, Eastern Cape police announced the arrest of two persons of interest, aged 30 and 22, in Ku Gompo following an intelligence-driven operation involving multiple law enforcement units. The suspects were being questioned in connection with Tete’s murder and the attempted murder of the female passenger. Police stated that further details could not be disclosed due to the sensitive nature of the investigation and that more arrests could be imminent. They appealed for public tips while warning against unverified social media claims.

South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie expressed profound sorrow, saying the country had “lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced” and calling on the community for information. “Somebody in that community knows who did this,” he stated.

Tete, born March 8, 1988, in Mdantsane, turned professional in 2006. He captured the IBF junior-bantamweight (super-flyweight) world title in 2014 by defeating Japan’s Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe and later held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019. He is widely remembered for his record 11-second knockout of Siboniso Gonya in a world title fight in Belfast in November 2017, the fastest stoppage in a championship bout.

His professional record stood at 29 wins (22 by knockout), four losses, and one no-contest. After a July 2022 victory over Jason Cunningham that was later ruled a no-contest due to a positive test for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, Tete received a four-year ban from the UK Anti-Doping Agency. The ban ended on July 29, 2026. His manager confirmed he had resumed training and was preparing for a comeback fight.