There have been many attempts on the life of Buffalo City Metro Infrastructure director, Nceba Ncunyana. All of them failed.

But on Wednesday his attackers finally succeeded.

Ncunyana was on his way from an oversight visit when the suspects, who were allegedly driving in a bakkie, shot at the Toyota Fortuner he was travelling in with his bodyguards. A number of the bullets hit Ncunyana, killing him.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said: "Police can confirm that they are investigating a case of murder and attempted murder."

The attempts on his life apparently began in 2017. A Facebook post in August 2022 claimed that Ncunyana received a "shocking text" in 2017 urging him to step down within five days, warning that failure to do so would result in "severe punishment".

"We are asking you nicely to step down, you know how you got the job. I called you but you did not pick up. Don't call me, I'll call you.

"If you don't resign, I will make a plan... it's going to hurt you badly," the purported text to Ncunyana read.

And indeed, the sequence of life events that followed Ncunyana were terrifying.

In 2021, Ncunyana went into hiding after five armed men stormed into his upmarket suburban home, demanding that he pay them to stop them from executing him. The gunmen, who were caught on CCTV camera, made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

In August 2022, Ncunyana, who was acting city manager at the time, was shot and wounded in the arm when gunmen emerged from a VW Polo and fired shots.

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) condemned the hit on Ncunyana and said in a statement that they were shocked by the incident.

Salga emphasised their concern over the increase in the number of killings of municipal officials in the country.

Samkelo Ngwenya, spokesperson for the Metro, said they are not in a position to comment on the matter due to its sensitivity.