In a chilling daylight shooting on Mangosuthu Highway, Umlazi, south of Durban, two individuals met a violent end as unknown assailants opened fire on them.
Mangosuthu Highway shooting: Here’s everything we know
The victims, seated in a car, were declared dead at the scene by responding paramedics, marking another grim chapter in the province’s ongoing struggle with targeted killings.
As reported by SABC News, the incident unfolded outside the magistrate’s court on Mangosuthu Highway, where Advance Life Support Paramedics alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS) quickly arrived at a scene of cold-blooded murder.
The victims, both males believed to be in their twenties, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds while seated in their vehicle at a stop street.
Despite the rapid response, there was nothing that could be done to save the lives of the victims who were declared deceased on site.
KZN leads as hotspot for assassinations in South Africa
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) continues to be a hotbed for assassinations, a trend deeply embedded in a culture of violence and intimidation.
An extensive examination of public and media reports spanning from 2000-2021 examined by the Global Initiative unveils a staggering database of 1,971 assassination cases across South Africa.
The data, categorised into political motivation, organised crime, personal feuds, and taxi industry-related hits, uncovers a sharp ascent in targeted killings, peaking in 2018.
A unique culture of violence pervades the South African taxi industry, which alone accounted for 46% of all recorded assassinations. Organised crime and political motivations trailed at 22% and 21% respectively, while personal vendettas accounted for 11% of the hits.
Firearms emerged as the overwhelmingly preferred tool of execution, deployed in 98% of the assassinations.
Stabbings, though significantly less common at 2%, followed suit, with a mixed bag of brutal methods – including staged car accidents, strangulation, suffocation, and poisoning – making up the remaining 2% of cases.
The report underscores the ease of access to illicit firearms, including those diverted from legitimate sources like the police force and private security firms.
This chilling efficiency of South Africa’s hitmen is underscored by a staggering statistic – 87% of recorded assassination attempts successfully snuffed out the lives of the intended targets.
The fallout often extends beyond the victims, with bystanders occasionally caught in the deadly crossfire.