Four arrested over murder of two-time world champion Zolani Tete

Four people have been arrested in South Africa after boxing champion Zolani Tete, 38, was shot dead outside his home on Friday in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. A 27-year-old woman who was with him was also shot and is in hospital.

Tete held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019 and the IBF super-flyweight title in 2014, and he had been given a four-year ban that lapsed in July. After his death, manager Mla Tengimfene confirmed he had been training for a comeback fight after his ban ended.

One of those detained, a 22-year-old arrested on Saturday, faces murder and attempted murder charges and will make an initial court appearance on Monday. The remaining suspects, arrested on Sunday, have two individuals charged with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and it is unclear whether they will also be charged with murder and attempted murder.

Officials described the killing as an ambush in Mdantsane, saying Tete was in his car waiting for the gate to his house to open when two armed suspects in balaclavas emerged from a vehicle and fired "multiple shots" at him and the female passenger.

Tributes have been pouring in for the two-time world champion since his death. South Africa's Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said: "South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced." Former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula also paid tribute, lamenting the loss of "a great South African who has made an immense contribution in the sport of boxing".

Tete beat Liverpool's Paul Butler in 2015 in one of the eight times he fought in the United Kingdom, and he holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a title fight, ending his match with Siboniso Gonya inside 11 seconds in 2017. Tete had 29 wins in 34 fights, with four losses and one no-contest.

He last fought in July 2022, beating Briton Jason Cunningham by knockout in London, but that result was later ruled a no‑contest after he failed a drugs test; he tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol and was given a ban by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

The 22-year-old arrested on Saturday will make an initial court appearance on Monday, while the suspects detained on Sunday are due in court on Tuesday.