Brett Kebble spoke to his assailants moments before they pumped him full of bullets, police said on Thursday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Chris Wilken told SAFM Morning Live on Thursday that, while not ruling out that Kebble was deliberately murdered, police were following leads that he was the victim of a botched hijacking.
Wilken said on Thursday: "The vehicle was stationary while he talked to his assailants. It's very clear to us. And then from there, he was shot and he drove further. So that's why we are actually piecing our facts on the fact that it might have been a hijacking that went wrong."
Wilken said a murder attempt would more likely have taken the form of a drive-by shooting and Kebble would have been shot while driving. He said the police had reconstructed the circumstances of the killing on Wednesday and found cartridges. "We have reason to believe that this might have been a hijacking. We are not saying it is, but we say we have reason to believe there is a possibility that it could have been a hijacking that went wrong."
Wilken said earlier that the Serious and Violent Crime Unit - with eight senior officers - had taken over the investigation. "We haven't identified any suspects as yet. We went back to the scene to search for clues. It's a high-profile case and there has been a lot of speculation."
Kebble, 41, known as the "new Barney Barnato" for the excitement he had injected into the mining industry, was on his way to the house of his partner, Sello Rasethaba, when he was gunned down at the steering wheel of his Mercedes-Benz around 9pm on Tuesday night. He was found in Melrose on a bridge over Johannesburg's M1 freeway less than a kilometre from his home in Illovo.
Despite the police's hijacking theory, friends and colleagues have said they are convinced Kebble was assassinated. Andile Nkuhlu, an ANC Youth League member and one of a group of people expecting Kebble for dinner, said on Wednesday: "This was pure assassination. There is no doubt about it. "I was at the scene. There was no attempt at a robbery. I saw it with my own eyes. The truth will come out about what happened to the life of this great South African. This was a callous, premeditated crime."
Kebble's advocate, Willem Heath, also said it appeared as though Kebble had been assassinated. "It appears that it was probably a malicious attempt to kill him and he was in fact killed," Heath told SAFM yesterday.
Kebble family spokesperson David Barrit said on Wednesday that Kebble had received threats in the past. Asked about this on Thursday, Wilken said: "I have an enormous problem with people making statements like that... without the police knowing about that." If these threats had been reported, this had not been brought to the attention of the Johannesburg police, Wilken said. "There are statements being made and it creates enormous confusion. If there are threats against people's lives, they must be reported so that they can investigated."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Kebble bled to death in less than five minutes after being pumped full of bullets. Four bullets were removed from his torso during an autopsy on Wednesday. A police source revealed that Kebble had tried to get away after being ambushed. He managed to drive about 400m before his car swerved across the road and smashed into a bridge railing over the M1 highway at Melrose Street in northern Johannesburg.
Police found his body slumped over the steering wheel at about 9.15pm. Had he not been bleeding profusely, Kebble might have lived until help arrived. But because he had lost so much blood, he died within minutes.
The police source said evidence gathered suggested that Kebble had been driving down Melrose Street, a narrow and deserted stretch of Joburg, when something or someone caused him to stop. At least one attacker was standing in front of the car's bonnet. It was not clear when exactly the assailant began shooting, but something caused Kebble to slam his foot down on the accelerator.
While not ruling out the possibility that the cold-blooded killing had been ordered by someone Kebble might have crossed in his controversial business dealings, the source also revealed that police were looking into a hijacking three weeks ago at the same spot. However, police remain puzzled why Kebble's driver window was wide open on a cold Johannesburg night.
Source: IoL
In an earlier article the South African Police spokesperson, Superintendent Chris Wilken, is reported to have said that "Kebble was shot in Atholl-Oaklands road, on the bridge crossing the M1 to Pretoria."
ReplyDeleteIn this article, South African Police spokesperson, Superintendent Chris Wilken, is reported to have said that evidence gathered suggested that Kebble had been driving down Melrose Street, a narrow and deserted stretch of Joburg, when something or someone caused him to stop. At least one attacker was standing in front of the car's bonnet."
In testimony, professional boxer Michael Schultz, is reported to have described how he shot and killed Kebble as follows:
"I leaned out the [car] window, pointing the firearm at him... He just lifted his shoulder, his right shoulder, and looked in front... I aimed at his head and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not discharge,"
After the gun - which Schultz kept in a kitbag - failed to discharge the first time, he and two other accomplices turned state witnesses, Faizel Smith and Nigel McGurk, drove off. After inspecting the weapon, they returned and found Kebble in his vehicle and tried again.
"I leaned out of the window and pointed the firearm... Once again the gun did not discharge."
Schultz said he then told Kebble to wait for him. The trio drove away for the second time. He inspected the gun. They made a U-turn and returned to where they had left Kebble.
However, Kebble had driven off. They stopped their car and saw him coming towards them. They flashed their headlights at him. He made a U-turn and "stopped hard" next to them.
"I could see the disappointment in his face, he gave me a look like to say 'get this over with, you're putting me through hell'," Schultz said.
He leaned out of the window and this time aimed for Kebble's body.
"I pulled the trigger, this time the gun fired. I kept firing."
Schultz could not remember how many times he shot, but recalled that one of his instructions was that Kebble should not suffer.
The three then drove away. Schultz looked back and saw Kebble's car rolling forward and hitting the pavement. They sped from the scene in Melrose Street in Johannesburg to Smith's panel-beating business, where Smith cut the gun into pieces and said he would dispose of it.