Dozens of people are killed every day in South Africa. A contract killer receives the equivalent of between 130 and 8000 euros for a murder. After the death of a well-known rapper, the debate about fighting violence in the country flares up again.
The prospect of a lucrative life insurance policy, a political strife, eliminating an annoying rival or an honest accountant who finds inconsistencies in the accounts: There are many motives for a contract kill and in South Africa it only costs 130 to 8000 euros to get rid of someone for good . The debate about what the country can do about it has flared up again after the murder of a well-known rapper on the street.
A report by the Swiss Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) from 2021 shows that a killer in South Africa can be had for as little as 130 euros. She has compiled the information on hit-and-runs over four years. The price of an assassination depends on the celebrity of the victim and the skill and experience of the assassin. On average, the equivalent of around 3000 euros is paid.
The public debate about violent crime has flared up again in the Cape after a well-known rapper was murdered on the street in February. Musician Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, and his friend Tebello Motsoane, known as Tibz, were shot dead outside a restaurant in Durban while walking to their car. The perpetrator approached the 35-year-old rapper and his 41-year-old friend from behind, opened fire and then ran away.
The act was filmed by security cameras. A video of the act, which lasted just 19 seconds, was shared many times on the internet. The police assume a contract killing. South Africa has the 10th highest homicide rate in the world, according to the World Population Review data collection. According to the latest annual report by the South African police, only one in five murder cases is solved. According to statistics published in February, an average of 82 murders were committed per day in the last quarter of 2022. "Few murders committed by hired killers make it to trial. And when they do, the perpetrators are often killed themselves," says Mary de Haas, a researcher who studies political violence in KwaZulu-Natal province Durban belongs. It is therefore "pretty easy" to get rid of someone.
Also in February, a Cape Town government employee was shot dead in her car while at the entrance to the construction site of a €25.5 million real estate project. A source at City Hall said that before the murder, unknown individuals tried to intimidate and blackmail employees working on the project.
The city of Cape Town, which, unlike at the national level, is governed not by the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), but by the Democratic Alliance, has offered a reward of the equivalent of 5,000 euros for information about the crime. When presenting the latest crime statistics, Police Minister Bheki Cele emphasized that the police "continue to arrest contract killers and their backers".
However, the city of Cape Town takes a much more critical view of previous efforts to combat violent crime. "Quarterly crime statistics provide more insight into deficiencies in policing than crime-solving," she said.
