The deputy mayor of the uMhlathuze Municipality, Christo Botha, has called for swift arrests after a Foskor executive in charge of procurement was gunned down in broad daylight in Richards Bay on Monday.
Botha said this was not the first incident involving a private sector executive at a Richards Bay company and that criminals were becoming increasingly brazen in their attacks – carrying them out during the day and not bothering to hide their identities.
The 50-year-old senior procurement executive at Foskor was found dead in his car in the suburb of Meer-en-see in Richards Bay.
Police said the man sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The gunmen used rifles before fleeing in a silver Hyundai ix35.
“This executive was in charge of the supply chain tenders and contracts and he was responsible for major tenders.
“We don’t want to create panic but these attacks, including the killing of councillors, are taking place in broad daylight,” Botha said.
In 2021, Nico Swart, the Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) general manager of operations, was killed in the same suburb.
Since then 10 people linked to RBM and its parent company Rio Tinto have been killed and tensions in the area have seen the company’s executives forced to enlist the services of security companies, with executives travelling in armour-plated vehicles amid growing concerns over their safety and criminal activity in the mining area.
To date, no arrests have been made for the murders.
“We hope the SAPS will do something about this and make arrests but the fact that so many councillors and private sector executives have been killed without any arrests shows that the people involved have been bought off. They have been silenced with money.”
Botha said the police in the area were under-resourced and needed backing from the national police department to be able to do their jobs.
Foskor’s group corporate affairs manager Vhontsia Ramashia, said the man was shot near the Meer-en-see residential area after leaving the company premises on Monday afternoon.
“We are deeply saddened by this event. The Richards Bay Traffic Police and South African Police Service have attended the scene.
“Foskor supports a thorough investigation being conducted by the security agencies, and for justice to prevail. Foskor extends its sincere condolences and sympathies to the deceased’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones,” Ramashia said in a statement.
The Mercury