Kebble family have no doubts

2005-09-28 22:37

Johannesburg - The family of slain mining magnate Brett Kebble, 41, thinks his murder was an assassination and not a botched hijacking, said spokesperson David Barritt on Wednesday.

"Police are saying it could be a hijacking, but nobody in the family believes that," he said.

"There is just too much of a coincidence in the timing of his death," he said.

Moneyweb reported that, according to a regulatory filing by Randgold Resources with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington on June 30 this year it was made clear that 14.4 million shares that Randgold & Exploration (R&E) claimed to hold in Randgold Resources had gone missing.

The financial website said on Wednesday: "For weeks, there has been the overwhelming sense of a cover-up.

Encouraged strong emotion in people

"Kebble, however, had no end of plain old-fashioned enemies, of the kind that would not hesitate to exact revenge."

Barritt conceded that it was early days of the police probe "and that everybody has their ideas, but nobody really knows".

He said Kebble was the kind of person who encouraged strong emotion in people.

"Every prominent business person has enemies, and Brett had his fair share, but I have no idea who could be so evil."

He said the family was waiting for police to release his body before they finalised funeral arrangements.

"The funeral will be at the weekend or on Tuesday in Cape Town," he said.

Barritt said Kebble's wife, Ingrid, and his four children, ranging in age from three to about 13, were in Cape Town.

"He kept them so separate from his businesses that I barely know them," Barritt said.

"I was close to Brett, but not the rest of the family. I never knew his sister's name," he said.

Barritt, who worked with Kebble for 3½ years, said: "Brett was such a big part of my life, day and night.

"Even as I walk around the house I look for him in the places he used to sit. His poor wife and kids..."

Superintendent Chris Wilken said it was hoped Kebble's body would be released from the mortuary on Thursday.

"I think they completed the post-mortem today," he said on Wednesday.

"And, the results will definitely not be released to the public," he said.

He said police were looking at two possibilities for Kebble's murder - a botched hijacking or a "hit".

"We have no concrete evidence either way."

Wilken dismissed reports that two vagrants had come forward claiming to be witnesses.

Bullet-ridden body

"There are no witnesses," he said.

"I don't know what you are talking about. We have not interviewed a single witness."

He said police were working on information obtained in Melrose, Johannesburg North, where Kebble's bullet-ridden body was found slumped in his vehicle on Tuesday night.

"We have been working round the clock since the shooting," he said.

"A senior officer and a team from the violent crimes unit are paying priority attention to the matter," he said.

- SAPA