Getting rid of an insufferable wife comes relatively cheap in South Africa, while a political hit is more expensive.
Crime studies say that hiring a contract killer costs between $145 (About R2,600) and $8,700 (R160,000) in South Africa, where murders have been in the spotlight recently after the killing of a popular rapper.
One of South Africa’s hottest artists, Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, was shot dead outside a restaurant in the city of Durban earlier this month.
Forbes, 35, was shot dead on Friday night along with his friend Tebello Motsoane or “Tibz”, 41, as the two walked to their car on one of the east coast city’s most popular streets.
The incident shocked the nation, which is used to criminal and violent behavior.
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South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
AKA’s killing was captured on security camera footage that went viral online.
There a man in a white hat was seen crossing the street and walking quickly past the parked cars.
He approached the singer from behind on the sidewalk and opened fire at close range before running away.
Police say they are following up on several leads, but all point to a targeted killing.
No arrests have been made so far.
– ‘Easy’ Kills –
Only about one in five homicide cases are solved in the country, according to the latest annual police report.
With data released in February showing an average of 82 murders per day across the country between October and December, many of the killers remain anonymous and public.
“Many murders involving hitmen end up in court and when they do hitmen often kill,” Mary de Haas, an academic focused on political violence in Durban’s KwaZulu-Natal province, told AFP.
That makes eliminating people look “very easy” he said.
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It is not known how much AKA’s murder cost.
But the more important the target, the higher the cost of killing, according to a 2021 report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Swiss think tank.
Hitmen in South Africa bill more than $3,000 on average for murder motivated by personal reasons, according to the study – although the figure varies depending on the insurance finally paid-out.
Politically motivated and organized crime is more expensive.
– ‘Lack of police’-
Earlier this month a city employee in Cape Town was shot dead in his car.
His body was found at the entrance to the construction site of a real estate project worth more than 500 million rand ($27 million).
Before the killing, people working on the project were subjected to intimidation and extortion attempts, according to sources at city hall.
The city, led by the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is offering a reward of 100,000 rand for information leading to the successful prosecution of those responsible.
Also read: At least 145 cases of political killings have been recorded in KwaZulu-Natal
Police Minister Bheki Cele, who every three months presents national crime statistics live, has long been under pressure to improve the situation.
“The quarterly crime statistics … represent more of a history lesson highlighting the shortcomings of the police, than a crime intelligence tool,” Cape Town city hall said in a statement.
As he revealed the latest figures this month, Cele said police were continuing to “arrest the attackers and those who ordered the killings”.