SACP ward candidate shot dead at his Dutywa home nine days before the election
Ernest Fipaza, 63, was killed at his home in Bende Location on Friday evening, and his family says his name stays on the ballot for Ward 10.
Ernest Fipaza, the SACP councillor-candidate for Ward 10 in the Mbhashe Local Municipality, was shot and killed at his home in Bende Location, Dutywa, on Friday evening, nine days before the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections.
He was 63. He was an ANC ward councillor in the municipality and was standing for the ward under the SACP banner.
According to the police, two unknown men arrived at his home at around 19:30. An argument broke out, turned physical, and shots were fired. The assailants held one of his sons at gunpoint while searching a safe for a firearm, then fled empty-handed.
A team from the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Investigation Unit is investigating a case of murder and house robbery.
The Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zolile Williams, condemned the killing and said it is unacceptable that people resort to ambushing others at their homes to resolve political differences.
“No stone should be left unturned until the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to book and face the full might of the law,” Williams said.
He conveyed his condolences to Fipaza’s family, to the people of Bende Location in Dutywa, to the Mbhashe Local Municipality and to the Eastern Cape Province.
His son, Papama Fipaza, and community members paid tribute to a man they described as putting people before his own interests. A former teacher, he drilled a community borehole at his own cost so that neighbours had free access to clean drinking water. He ran a vegetable garden that supplied fresh produce to underprivileged families, and he pushed to convert a local primary school into a technical school.
His family confirmed that he will still appear on the ballot paper next week as voters go to the local government elections.
The account of the killing and of Fipaza’s community work is carried from the media statement issued by the MEC’s office, published by the South African Government at https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/mec-zolile-williams-condemns-killing-sacp-councillor-candidate-mbhashe-local. Enquiries on the statement are directed to Pheello Oliphant on 082 432 6433 and Mamkeli Ngam on 071 685 7981.
