Durban - Experts and police remain alarmed at how “hits” were being ordered on wives, girlfriends, business partners and employees, usually by people who are listed as beneficiaries to insurance policies in the victim’s name.
With the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the country’s economy, they’ve noticed more victims were landing in the crosshairs of shooters.
While execution style shootings were usually the preferred method, some paying customers were opposed to a bloody end for their victims.
Like the Durban-based businessman who allegedly instructed a hitman to use minimal force when snuffing out the life of an employee, earlier this month.
The businessman was apparently experiencing financial difficulty and hoped to benefit from the R250 000 insurance policy he had taken out against the life of a female employee.
But the businessman knew that he could only benefit if the woman, who was known to have breathing problems, died of natural causes.
So he allegedly asked the hitman to suffocate the woman so that her death wouldn’t look suspicious.
He had also instructed the hired killer to flee if the woman put up a struggle as he did not want her to sustain any bruises, which could stir suspicion about the cause of her death.
The hitman, who was unemployed, was allegedly promised a R50 000 payout from the businessman, once the policy paid out.
The hitman got connected to the businessman via another associate on March 2.
They met the next day to plan the killing, which was to take place in the afternoon.
That’s when the hitman learnt how the target had proved troublesome for the businessman, as she had raised a matter with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) against him.
After fetching the hitman from their pre-arranged pick-up point, the businessman drove him to his business premises so that the mission could be completed.
But when they got there, police arrested the businessman.
The hitman had a change of heart about the killing, earlier that day, and alerted police, who then set a trap.
The businessman appeared briefly at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on March 5 regarding the conspiracy to commit murder charge he faced.
State prosecutor Calvin Govender said the matter was due for further investigation and did not oppose bail. Bail was set at R2 000 and was endorsed by Magistrate Vanitha Armu.
The accused is due back in court next month.
His attorney, Abdul Karrim, said they did not know the full extent of the allegations and awaited the completion of the investigation before any comments could be made.
“We intend pleading not guilty to any charges raised against my client,” said Karrim.
Rick Crouch, an experienced local private investigator said bosses ordering hits on employees was growing in popularity, including cases where husbands and wives hired hitmen to take out their spouses for insurance and marital reasons.
Crouch said he was presently working on one such marital matter.
Brad Nathanson, another Durban private investigator, said in his 41-years of doing investigations he’s aware of instances where “key man” insurance policies were the basis for some killings.
Key man insurance policies are usually taken by companies or business owners on the life of vital employees, in case they become disabled or died.
Nathanson said hitmen, given the present economic climate, these days were a “dime a dozen”.
“It is very easy to hire a killer. You could even get someone from outside the country, who could easily go over the borders once the hit is done. If he remains, he would be hard to track because they usually have no Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica) or Related Information Act (Rica) trails.”
Nathanson said he was also approached in some instances to “whack people”, but refused and reported the matters to the authorities.
Mary De Haas, KZN violence monitor, believes the proliferation of hitmen is due to the country’s crime intelligence units being misdirected and used by political figures to fight political battles.
“The crux of the problem hinged on what happened to our crime intelligence units.
“Some good cops who are committed to work, but are now leaving because they can’t take the corruption and political meddling any longer,” she said.
Captain Nqobile Gwala, provincial police spokesperson said they were concerned that citizens were increasingly using hitmen to kill people close to them.
“This contributes to our high murder rate. It is very difficult for police to know when someone is planning to kill a loved one or an acquaintance. Even the intended target is unaware that someone who they live or interact with on a daily basis is planning to kill them.
“Most murder victims are killed by someone known to them,” said Gwala.
Sunday Tribune