SOUTH AFRICA IS HITMAN HEAVEN

Killing fields keep assassins in business

CONTRACT killings are a booming business in South Africa as hitmen and women are increasingly finding paid work killing political opponents, taxi operators and criminal rivals.

The number of hits increased dramatically over the past 18 months, according to researchers, and indications are that the figures will continue to rise in the run-up to the ANC elective conference in December.

And as only one in four murders are solved in the country, many assassins are getting away scot-free.

“There has been an increase in 2016, a quite drastic increase from the previous year. This increase is due to taxi and political violence,” said crime researcher Kim Thomas, who has studied contract killings in South Africa.

Last year, she added, there were 111 suspected assassinations when usually there were between 40 and 50 incidents a year.

These numbers related to incidents and not the number of people killed.

The worst-affected province is KwaZulu-Natal, which in recent years has been plagued with political killings. Second is Gauteng which saw 19 suspected assassinations last year. Most incidents in Gauteng are related to the taxi industry, said Thomas.

This year the body count could be higher. Thomas and University of Cape Town criminologist Professor Mark Shaw have so far identified 75 possible murder-forhire incidents.

Each was recorded online at http://assassinationwitness.org. za. They run the website to highlight South Africa’s growing problem of hit-related murders.

Shaw said contract killings could be divided into different categories which included those relating to political killings, taxi violence, organised crime and personal.

Taxi violence and political killings, particularly in KwaZuluNatal, were interlinked, he said. Union rivalries, particularly in the platinum belt, were also feeding the murder-for-hire industry.

This week, the Moerane Commission of Inquiry into political killings in KZN heard how the Glebelands hostel, in uMlazi, had become a reservoir for hitmen who have killed at least 89 people since March 2014.

“It’s completely out of control now, especially in KZN. You don’t like something – bang! – kill it. We’ve become a gangster nation from the top down,” said Vanessa Burger, a community activist who gave testimony before the commission.

Gareth Newham, the head of the Governance, Crime and Justice Division at the Institute for Security Studies, said few hired guns are caught.

The reason, he said, was that the SAPS Crime Intelligence unit was in disarray.

This stemmed from the suspension of Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, who, he said, was still drawing a salary and meddling in intelligence-related issues.

“Only around 25% of murders in South Africa are solved. This means there is little deterrent value.

So if you are already involved in violent crime, it doesn’t take too much to become a hitman,” said Newham. To solve the problem, he suggested there should be less political interference in the police and experienced investigators be allowed to do their job.

Shaw said that besides police tackling contract killings, social and economic issues had to be tackled.

“We have a large population of young men with no hope of a future, no prospects, no jobs, extreme poverty, few outlets for frustration or positive recreation, appalling living conditions, so it’s very easy to recruit a hitman,” explained Burger.

Police, however, have made a breakthrough in at least one political killing in KZN.

A task team set up to investigate the hits in the province on Monday made an arrest in the murder of Mbhekiseni Khumalo, a ward councillor in Pongola, who was shot dead in December.

Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said the task team was focusing on KZN for the moment.

He said the SAPS National Intervention Unit dealt with high-profile crimes, such as taxi violence.