The arrests of former Knysna mayor Thando Matika, acting Municipal Manager Boy Manqoba Ngubo, and acting CFO Busisiwe Lubelwana have plunged the municipality deeper into a bitter political and governance crisis. The trio were arrested by members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption involving a municipal security services contract. The arrests were made on Thursday, 1 October 2026.
According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the three faced charges of corruption stemming from an investigation into alleged kickbacks linked to a municipal security services contract. The allegations suggest that a businessman who had been awarded a security services contract was being solicited for kickbacks in exchange for the continuation of the contract. It's alleged that the businessman had already paid hundreds of thousands of rand out of fear that his security services contract would be terminated.
The accused are all facing charges of corruption and are due in court on Monday, 5 October 2026. The arrests come amid a bitter leadership battle in the municipality, with Knysna having been without an elected mayor since 18 September 2026, when the ANC removed Matika from the position after he was listed as a candidate for the South African Communist Party (SACP). Matika has disputed his removal, saying he remains the duly elected mayor.
The DA has seized on the arrests to renew its criticism of Knysna's governance, procurement processes, and management of public funds. DA Knysna mayoral candidate Levael Davis said the party was ready to end what he described as a "shameful era of corruption, chaos, and decay" in the municipality. Davis pointed to the Western Cape government's previous proposal to invoke a Section 139 intervention, a constitutional mechanism that allows the province to intervene when a municipality fails to fulfil its executive obligations.
The arrests have also triggered sharply contrasting political responses, with the GOOD Party framing the allegations as a test of municipal accountability, while the SACP cautioned against political interference and said the criminal process must establish the facts. GOOD's Garden Route District councillor and mayoral candidate, Rosa Louw, said the arrests raised serious questions about the handling of public money.
The municipality has been experiencing a period of instability, marked by three killings, an SIU investigation, and a deepening political dispute over the mayor's position. Former mayor and serving ANC councillor Aubrey Tsengwa was shot dead in August 2026, followed by the killings of former councillor Mandla Matiwane and local taxi forum secretary Mandla Tyololo. The SIU investigation into the R68-million municipal security tender was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The crisis has led to a leadership vacuum, with a special council meeting to elect a replacement for Matika failing to reach a quorum. The coalition governing the Knysna Municipal Council, which comprises the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance (PA), Knysna Independent Movement (KIM), and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI), has been in place since August 2022. The DA has called for both the criminal investigation and the SIU probe into the security tender to be pursued to their conclusion.
Key points
- Former Knysna mayor Thando Matika, acting Municipal Manager Boy Manqoba Ngubo, and acting CFO Busisiwe Lubelwana were arrested over alleged corruption linked to a municipal security contract.
- The arrests have plunged the municipality deeper into a bitter political and governance crisis amid a leadership battle and an SIU investigation into the R68-million municipal security tender.
- The DA has seized on the arrests to renew its criticism of Knysna's governance, procurement processes, and management of public funds, calling for accountability and the recovery of allegedly unlawfully lost municipal funds.
