South Africa

Controverial mining magnate Brett Kebble was shot dead yesterday while driving to a meeting . The killing has raised eyebrows with more than a few people labelling it an "assassination". Here are some interesting questions about the killing :

 

1) Who would hijack a MERC S600 V12? I mean come on, could you make yourself any more visible "look at me I just hijacked this extremely expensive, rare car". Also, it would probably be very difficult to find a buyer for this type of car for the same reason. Scrap is an option, but why even take the risk when you could steal another type car and get a "full" sale.

 

2) Why would you drive around chilly, dangerous Joburg with your window down. When Kebble and the car were eventually found, the driver side window was down...maybe there was a meeting and something went wrong?

 

3) If you believe the hijacking gone wrong theory why would there be FIVE shots to Kebble's body? Evidence at the scene indicates that Kebble tried to escape after the first shot was fired...what kind of hijackers would then chase after the car firing as they went? These are usually speedy incidents and if the hijackers attract attention (ie fire shots) they will quickly disappear, to chase after the car shows their true intentions - murder not vehicle theft. 

 

SA Police spokesman Chris Wilkens put the likelihood of the murder being the result of a botched hijacking at "around 60%". So we'll have to see...

 

For those of you wondering who Brett Kebble is and why all this is such a big deal - take a look at some of these articles in Noseweek. Definitely not a run of the mill South African - powerful friends and enemies.