The deputy mayor of the Richmond municipality in KwaZulu-Natal was murdered on Sunday night.Thandazile Phoswa's slaying comes a month after the council's municipal manager‚ S'bu Sithole‚ was gunned down in an apparent hit.

While details are still sketchy‚ TMG Digital has learnt that Phoswa's estranged boyfriend – a bodyguard at the uMshwathi municipality – handed himself over to police. Officers have seized the apparent murder weapon.

"The municipality is devastated. We have just lost a municipal manager a month ago. We hope the police do their work. We condemn this senseless murder regardless of who committed it‚" said council spokesman Sibonelo Bhengu.