Former boxing champion Zolani Tete killed by gunfire in South Africa

Former world boxing champion Zolani Tete, 38, was killed after being shot outside his home in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, police and South Africa’s sports minister announced.

Tete was on his way to his home in the town of Mdantsane on Friday when two masked gunmen alighted from a car and opened fire on him.

South African Sports Minister Gwede Mantashe said in a statement: “I will not speculate on the perpetrator or the motive behind the incident.”

Tete’s death is likely to renew focus on violence in South Africa, which continues to record some of the highest murder rates in the world, despite a recent decline in some homicide figures.

The killing of the former world champion has caused shock in Mdantsane, in the Eastern Cape, a town known for producing some of South Africa’s most prominent boxers.

A 27-year-old woman who was with Tete was shot several times and taken to the hospital for treatment. Police have opened an investigation into the incident, and the motive behind the attack remains unknown.

Tete enjoyed a distinguished boxing career. In 2014, he won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight title after defeating Japan’s Tero Kinoshita in Kobe, and later captured the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title.

Tete gained worldwide fame for his knockout victory over his compatriot Sibusiso Mkhwanazi, which came just 11 seconds into their bout in Belfast in November 2017, marking one of the fastest knockouts in the history of world title fights.