Dark underworld of hit killings
KZN guns for hire spilling into other provinces, be it taxi murders, political power play or financial need
SIPHO Ndovela died from a bullet to the back of the head as he stood metres from the entrance to the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court while under police protection.
Another bullet struck him in the heart, ensuring he would never take the stand as a key witness in the murder of his friend Fikile Siyephu in March 2015.
Ndovela is one of many Glebelands hostel residents believed to have been assassinated in recent years in uMlazi, KwaZulu-Natal.
Activists working in the area believe as many as 89 people have been slain since March 2014 – but there has not been a single conviction. This week, the Moerane Commission revealed the extent of murder for hire that happens almost daily in the former male hostel.
It painted a picture of residents collecting money to be used to pay hitmen. Of police who tur ned a blind eye and are so ineffectual that residents of Glebelands don’t even report crimes any more.
Glebelands is seen as a reservoir for hitmen whose guns for hire ply their trade elsewhere in the province. One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, testified before the commission that the motives behind the killings were politics, power, finances and the failure of the police and municipality to act.
Incredibly, he added, a policeman who stayed in the hostel was the mastermind behind some of the killings and even supplied ammunition to the hitmen.
But murder for hire goes far beyond the boundaries of the Glebelands hostel. South Africa, say experts, has become “Hitman Central” in an increasingly used tool by corrupt politicians, gangsters and taxi bosses.
The political murders in KZN have spilt over into other provinces. On Monday, Thozama Njobe, an ANC councillor for the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, died of wounds after being gunned down in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape. She was shot after attending a gathering.
Earlier in the month, someone in Njobe’s office was told that there was a plot to have her killed.
Professor Mark Shaw, a criminologist at UCT, has written a book about the use of hitmen in South Africa called Hitmen for Hire: Exposing South Africa’s Underworld.
He believes the number of assassinations is on the rise in the country, particularly over the past year. “It’s not new, but I think that it’s evolving. Our most recent data suggests the increase is because of greater political tensions in South Africa,” he says.
The bulk of assassinations still, according to Shaw, are a result of taxi violence. But increasingly, taxi hitmen are being used in political killings.
He suspects that South Africa’s hitman culture has grown from high levels of violence and the commercialisation of this bloodshed.
Shaw, with researcher Kim Thomas, runs a website that records the number of suspected hits in the country since 2000. Its grim toll is sitting at 1 200, which includes taxi, personal, political and organised crime-motivated hits.
The pair gathered these statistics through monitoring news outlets. “It’s not an absolute measure, but our motivation is to raise the profile of hits in South Africa,” says Shaw.
The commission this week reopened with news of another attempted political assassination in KwaZulu-Natal. Three ANC councillors were injured while they were at a local shop in Ibisi village.
While giving testimony, human rights activist Vanessa Burger told how she heard that the hitman had come from Glebelands hostel.
On Wednesday, the Hawks released an identikit of two men they believed were involved. A task team is investigating. While this is a high-profile case, violence monitor Mary de Haas, who has worked extensively with the residents of Glebelands hostel, points out that in the past police had done little to investigate possible assassinations in the area.
In fact evidence, she reveals, pointed to police involvement in the murders. An example of this was in the shooting of Ndovela.
“Ndovela went to court to make a statement that afternoon. I nego- tiated this with the police. Only the police knew he was going to be there,” says De Haas.
The 43-year-old father-of-six had survived two previous attempts on his life. When his friend Siyephu was killed, he escaped with a bullet wound to his leg.
Police often do not investigate these murders properly, even when the killers are caught on CCTV footage.
Shaw suspects that at least 0.3% to 0.5% of South Africa’s murders are likely the result of assassinations.
In Gauteng, says Thomas, there has also been an increase in the number of taxi-related killings.
There have been a number of recent deaths in a route dispute between two taxi associations in Soweto. Shaw has spent time interviewing suspected hitmen and says that, as with any profession, “it comes down to you pay for what you get”. The price for murder can range from R5 000, and up to R200 000 depending on how difficult the hit is.
“There is the whole spectrum, there are once-off hits to the high end,” he adds.
The high-end hits are more professional, and Shaw believes more difficult to identify as they can be disguised as accidents or the by-product of crime.
Personal hits, like those of family members, Shaw has found, are often thwarted by police stings.
“What seems to happen is someone will try and find a hitman. That person then goes to the police and the police set up a sting.”
The hitman culture, says Thomas, has evolved from “nurseries of violence” that included the hostels, the taxi industry and gangs.
Overcrowded hostels make it easy for assassins to escape the police and hide.
However, what surprised Shaw in her research were the hitmen themselves. “It’s not like the Hollywood image of a hitman as someone who is tough and professional. In reality, most of them are vulnerable.”
Run-of-the-mill hitmen do it for money, and in some accounts are professional – but most don’t live long. “They know a lot and are seen as a threat,” Shaw says.
To sort out assassinations, Shaw believes two issues need to be addressed.
The first is that the police need to improve their investigations into hit-related murders.
“They need to send a message that this will not be tolerated. Also, it needs to be tackled at a socio-economic level.”
Shaw and Thomas plan to continue their investigation into South Africa’s dark underworld of hit-related murders.
“We want to look at cases and trace what happens to hitman as they move through the justice system,” he says.