A prominent member of the Manguzi Community Policing Forum has been shot dead near his home in Manguzi on the northern KwaZulu-Natal north coast.

Sandile “Mteshe” Tembe was shot dead after getting out of a car on his way to a friend’s house at a local tuckshop near his home at eMfihlweni Royal Palace.

The 32-year-old was the nephew of the Tembe Clan Chief Mabhudu Tembe. Tembe was at the forefront of the fight against the cross-border syndicate smuggling 4×4 vehicles and stolen goods across the border into Mozambique.

The incident comes just a week after the murder of another prominent fighter against the syndicate Juda Mthethwa.

Police spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Nqobile Gwala says an armed suspect approached the victim and opened fire while his two accomplices waited in the getaway vehicle and fled.

Tembe was shot multiple times and was declared at the scene. The Tembe family believes this was a hit.