Another prominent Gqeberha man has been gunned down, this time with a single bullet to the head.
The murder of Eastern Cape Black Fishers’ Association chair Xola Ngcangca — who has strong ties to the ANC — comes days after a failed hit on the party’s former Ward 43 secretary, Thembisile Gana, who was shot at while watching TV with his young son.
At least four ANC members have been killed since February, with two others surviving attacks at their homes.
Ngcangca’s death also follows that of respected Motherwell businessman Ulundi Mpulu, 23, who was shot while driving in a car with friends on Monday.
Ngcangca, 47, was shot dead outside his KwaDwesi home on Wednesday night.
According to police, residents heard gunshots at about 7.15pm in Mkwenkwe Street.
His body was then found lying a few metres from his car, which was parked outside his gate.
His aunt, Nomsa Ngcangca, 72, said Ngcangca was like a son to her after his mother died in 1987 and she had never imagined he would be killed in such a callous manner.
“We have so many questions. I am not sure what the motive is,” she said.
Meanwhile, at least eight shots were fired at the home of Gana, 38, in KwaNobuhle, around midnight on Monday.
He was watching TV with his eight-year-old son when the shots were fired through a window of his house.
“I jumped on my son when the shooting started. I thought the bullets might hit him,” Gana said.
He believes the shooting was politically motivated as a vacancy in Ward 43 was created after councillor Andile Andries was gunned down in KwaNobuhle on May 2, with many people thinking Gana was vying for a nomination.
A branch general meeting was due to elect nominees on Tuesday to fill the vacancy, but this was later cancelled.
“Right after the shooting, I received an SMS from an unknown number stating that ‘If you attend the BGM we would get you, this is just a warning’,” he said.
Gana said he would send a screenshot of the message but failed to do so.
ANC Eastern Cape chair Oscar Mabuyane said he had reached out to police minister Bheki Cele about the violence in the province, specifically in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mthatha, Ngcobo, Lusikisiki and Gatyana.
“Something is going on and it is horrible,” he said.
“We are concerned about Nelson Mandela Bay. It cannot go on like this.”
Mabuyane said it was clear a syndicate was behind the violence in the metro.
“You can see that,” he said.
He called on residents to work together, as crime was always fought in communities.
“The police will struggle to make arrests as the people who commit these crimes are living with us.
“If we don’t expose such people we will forever be in this vicious cycle.”
Mabuyane said coalition governments in the Bay, which had a “leadership vacuum”, had brought a lot of issues, such as different dynamics and uncertainty.
“This on its own is a clear sign of a lack of cohesion which negatively affects the development of the area.”
Andries was killed alongside his assistant, Lubabalo Keso, in KwaNobuhle, which left party members rattled.
The two men were killed near Andries’s home in Kiva Street.
In February, Ward 20 councillor Zwelandile Booi died in a hail of bullets while driving along Tshawuka Street in Kwazakhele.
And mayoral co-ordinator and former councillor Mazwi Mini was shot in the jaw while watching TV at his KwaNobuhle home in the same month.
Though Mini survived the shooting, he was forced to go into hiding.
Bay ANC secretary Luyolo Nqakula said the last two incidents were proof that the “security cluster” had collapsed in the city.
“This is a sad state of affairs.
“Criminals have taken over and it looks like our security cluster has collapsed.
“We are left with no option but to mobilise communities to defend themselves.”
He said this would be done through the revival of street committees and community policing forums, as well as night patrols by neighbourhood watches.
At Ngcangca’s house on Thursday, friends, family and neighbours described him as a selfless leader with a big heart.
Nomsa said she was still struggling to come to terms with his death.
“We don’t know what to think.”
She said Ngcangca had loved the ANC but ventured into the fishing industry to sustain himself after being part of the party’s youth league in the region.
She demanded action from the police and called for a swift arrest.
Ngcangca had attended a funeral earlier in the day of a childhood friend.
After the funeral, the mourners gathered at a tavern.
Ngcangca had arrived back home when he was shot outside.
His cousin, Vuyo Ngcangca, 32, said he would never forget what he saw at the house on Wednesday night.
“He was lifeless, just lying there with bullet wounds, I honestly thought that he was injured but I never imagined to see him killed like a dog like that,” he said.
Vuyo said the killing was planned as the shooter went straight for Ngcangca.
“Whoever did this had a motive. But we can’t make sense out of it.”
Ngcangca leaves behind two children, aged 12 and three.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the motive for Ngcangca’s killing was unknown.
“When residents went out to investigate [the gunshot sounds], they found a man lying a few metres from his car which was parked outside his gate.
“He was shot in the head.”
In the Gana matter, police are investigating a case of attempted murder.
Gana said he had called the police after the shooting but they only arrived the following day.
“I slept with these bullets in my house. I had to send my child to live with my mother,” he said.
On the branch general meeting, Gana said: “I believe because of my experience some people thought I would attend and get nominated and then voted for,” he said.
But he had no plans to return as the ward councillor.
“I am hoping the police get the perpetrators because they are my only hope,” Gana said.
“I will be reluctant to attend any ANC meetings for the sake of my family.
“I had to take my child to the doctor for trauma but he seems to be fine.”
Nqakula said he had not spoken to Gana and had been unaware of the threats made against him.
“I have not received a report from him or anyone else. I am learning of it [through the media].”
He said the branch was supposed to convene a meeting on Tuesday but did not have a quorum.
It was scheduled to start on Thursday afternoon.
Naidu said there had been no arrests made in the previous murders and attempted murders but investigations were ongoing.
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