Zolani Shot Dead: Celebrities South Africa Lost to Gun Violence
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Former world boxing champion Zolani “Last Born” Tete has been shot dead outside his home in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, in the latest shooting involving a prominent South African figure.
Tete, 38, was reportedly attacked by two masked gunmen after arriving at his residence. The motive for the attack has yet to be established, while South African police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Who Was Zolani Tete?
Tete was one of South Africa’s most successful professional boxers with two-weight world champion belt during his career.He gained international attention in 2017 when he knocked out Siboniso Gonya in 11 seconds, setting a record for the fastest knockout in a world title fight.
The former bantamweight and super-bantamweight champion retired from boxing in 2023 after a career that included 30 victories from 35 fights. His death has shocked the South African sporting community and brought renewed attention to the country’s ongoing problem with gun violence.
South African Celebrities Lost to Gun Violence
Tete is not the first South African prominent figure to die in a shooting.
AKA
Popular South African rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes was shot dead outside a restaurant in Durban in February 2023. His best friend and former manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, was also killed during the attack.
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation confirmed the deaths at the time, describing the incident as a great loss to the country’s entertainment industry.
Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane
Motsoane was a businessman, chef and entertainment figure who was accompanying AKA when the shooting happened. His death alongside AKA made the incident one of the most widely reported celebrity killings in South Africa in recent years.
Tete’s death is now the latest gun violence to attract national attention as police work to determine who was responsible for the attack and why he was targeted. For fans and fellow athletes, the death marks the loss of a former world champion whose achievements had made him one of South Africa’s well-known boxers.
