Crime studies report that the death of the 35-year-old musician and his long time friend and business partner Tebello Motsoane who was popularly known as “Tibz” revived conversations around costs to hire a hitman.
Studies added that hiring a contract killer ranges from $185 to $8,700, depending on who the target is.
The latest annual police report documents that only one in five murder cases are resolved in South Africa and that there was an average of 82 murders nationwide per day between October and December.
Mary de Haas, an academic focusing on political violence in KwaZulu-Natal said hitmen rarely end up in court in the nation.
“Few murders involving hitmen end up in court and when they do hitmen are often killed,” said de Haas.
“That makes eliminating someone seem ‘pretty easy’,” she added.
Speaking on efforts made by Police Minister Bheki Cele who every three months presents nationwide crime statistics, authorities in the city of Cape Town called on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration to improve.
“The quarterly crime stats… represent more of a history lesson highlighting the shortcoming of policing, rather than a crime intelligence toolset,” read a statement released by Cape Town’s city hall.
In response the police minister said police continued “to arrest hit men and those who order assassinations.”
