Former world boxing champion Zolani “Last Born” Tete was shot dead outside his home in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province on Friday, the country’s sports minister announced.
The 38-year-old was arriving at his residence in Mdantsane township when two armed men wearing balaclavas got out of a vehicle and opened fire.
He drove into his yard in an apparent attempt to escape, but died at the scene. A 27-year-old woman travelling with him was also shot multiple times and remains in hospital.
“I will not speculate about who did this or why,” Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said in a statement.
Police say they have opened a murder investigation, but no arrests have been made and the motive remains unknown. Authorities have also warned against unverified reports circulating on social media as investigators pursue leads.
Tete’s killing is likely to renew scrutiny of South Africa’s persistent violent crime problem. The country continues to record one of the world’s highest murder rates, although homicides have declined recently. His death has also had a particular impact in Mdantsane, a township with a strong boxing tradition that has produced several of South Africa’s leading fighters.
He was one of South Africa’s most accomplished boxers of his generation. He won the IBF junior-bantamweight world title in 2014, defeating Japan’s Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe, before claiming the WBO bantamweight title three years later.
Tete became internationally known in 2017 when he knocked out fellow South African Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds in Belfast. The stoppage remains the fastest knockout in a world title fight. Tete finished his professional career with 29 wins, including 22 by knockout, four defeats and one no contest.
His death came shortly after the end of a four-year ban from boxing following a positive test for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The suspension expired in July, and Tete had been preparing for a return to the ring.
For a fighter who had built his reputation in the ring and become a source of pride in his hometown, his killing has shocked South Africa’s boxing community and brought a celebrated sporting career to a violent end.
