The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) Gauteng secretary Chris Nkosi was shot and killed on Monday night in Johannesburg.
He was shot five times, Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga told News24.
"He was on the N17 on his way to his home in the East Rand."
He said Nkosi was "ambushed" on the N17.
Masoga said the union was not ruling out the possibility that this was an assassination.
"Several other leaders... from other provinces have been threatened. That is why the union had invested in bodyguards," he said.
Masoga urged law enforcement agencies to take the incident seriously.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said the body of a man was found inside a car in Germiston.
"A man was found dead inside a vehicle. There were four bullet holes on the driver's side. According to witnesses there was a BMW which drove next to the car and fired bullets into the vehicle."
Dlamini said there was no sign of other occupants that had been in the car when the shooting occurred around 18:00 on Monday.
Dlamini said the man had been identified but could not release his name as his family had yet to be notified of his death.
News24
