Tributes are pouring in for United Democratic Movement (UDM) councillor Luxolo Namette following his tragic assassination in Motherwell on Saturday afternoon.
The 48-year-old was shot multiple times by attackers who subsequently fled the scene in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
The motive for the killing remains unknown.
BREAKING NEWS | Former Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor and councillor Luxolo Namete was shot and killed in Motherwell this afternoon. SABC News reporter Nandipha Plaatjie is at the scene. https://t.co/r2Em9D2144
— SABC News (@SABCNews) November 7, 2026
The assassination of Namette has sent shockwaves through the political community of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. Siya Mosi, an EFF councillor who served alongside Namette on the metro council, says that they knew each other well outside of work.
“I am worried because just before we went to these elections we had a similar thing that hit us and equally so it went deeper, we know each other we come from the same areas where we share everything.”
UDM Secretary General Bulelani Bobotyane has strongly condemned the murder, describing it as a tragic development that has placed a dark cloud over the election period.
“It’s a very sad moment indeed to the UDM and most especially to the family of councilor Namete. I cannot begin to express how devastating these news are, especially that we just concluded the elections, 2026 local government elections. at the moment, we cannot pinpoint and say this is probably the reason why the killing we escalating this matter to the South African Police Service to do the investigation because we also want to know on what transpired exactly but when we called the family to find out on or where was he during this time the family just informed us that he was they went to the saloon to cat to cut his head nothing else and so at the moment, we don’t really know what happened, and we are hoping that the SAPS will assist us and speed this investigation.”
VIDEO | Former UDM councilor shot dead in Motherwell