JOHANNESBURG - A South African legislator was shot dead on Tuesday night in a suspected highjacking incident, the country's ruling party African National Congress (ANC) said Wednesday.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said the ruling party's Member of Parliament (MP) Goodwill Sibusiso Radebe was shot dead when somebody tried to highjack his car west of Johannesburg.

"Comrade Radebe succumbed to injuries sustained from being shot during an attempted hijacking last night (Tuesday) in Roodepoort, Gauteng," said Mthembu.

South African police also confirmed the death of Radebe. Gauteng police spokesperson Mathapelo Peters said the motive of the killing is not known, and they have launched a manhunt for the suspects.

"Preliminary reports indicate that the deceased was with another person in a vehicle parked in Carbon Street, Lindhaven when two suspects allegedly approached the vehicle and opened fire, fatally wounding the deceased," she said.

Radebe's companion managed to escape uninjured and the suspects then reportedly made off in a Ford Fiesta, Peters said.