Western Cape police have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the Nhlamulo Sambo murder in KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay.

Sambo, 19, was found dead with a stab wound in the New Rest informal settlement in the early hours of Sunday, 31 May 2026. Police now say preliminary information links the incident to an alleged attempted burglary, while his family says he was killed during unrest linked to anti-foreigner tensions.

Police say suspect arrested after swift investigation

Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile said preliminary information suggested Sambo and a 15-year-old entered a shack “with the intention of taking some goods”. According to Patekile, the shack owner arrived, confronted them, chased Sambo and allegedly stabbed him.

Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said detectives pursued leads after Sambo’s body was found at about 3am on Sunday. She said the arrest followed a “swift and focused investigation” into the Nhlamulo Sambo murder.

Earlier reporting quoted police spokesperson Warrant Officer Christopher Spies as saying Sambo was stabbed after an altercation with another man. At that stage, police said the suspect had fled and the circumstances remained under investigation.

Sambo’s family has rejected the suggestion that the case was only linked to burglary. His mother, Nkateko Sambo, said in a video that her son was South African and from Giyani in Limpopo, not a foreign national.

Limpopo Chronicle reported that the family alleged Sambo was attacked because he spoke Xitsonga. The publication said relatives linked the killing to unrest in Mossel Bay involving people believed to be foreign nationals.

Mossel Bay had already seen public unrest before Sambo’s death. Algoa FM reported on 30 May 2026 that the Mossel Bay Municipality called for calm after scores of people were displaced in attacks where foreign nationals were reportedly targeted.

Responses and next steps

Mossel Bay Executive Mayor Dirk Kotzé urged residents to reject violence and intimidation, saying not all foreign nationals were in South Africa illegally and that communities should seek solutions without destruction.

The suspect’s name and court details were not confirmed in the available sources reviewed. Police have also not publicly confirmed the family’s claim that the Nhlamulo Sambo murder was motivated by xenophobia or tribal tension.