Dube's killers hunted down

2007-10-21 22:31

Annelene Moses

Johannesburg - Police searching for 43-year-old reggae king Lucky Dube's killers have announced a major breakthrough with the arrest of five men on the East Rand.

Dube was murdered on Thursday while dropping off his teenaged son and daughter at a family friend in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg.

His attackers, who were driving a Volkswagen Polo, fired at him while his children, who were already out of the car, ran into the house.

Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said the special team formed on Friday had caught the first three suspects early on Sunday morning in Vosloorus.

Dlamini said clues at the crime scene, information received anonymously from the community and thorough investigative work had put the police on the trail of the suspects.

Team working 'day and night'

Two pistols, a Ford Telstar and a Mazda 626, presumably stolen, had also been seized.

The weapons would be sent for forensic and ballistic tests to determine if they could be linked to Dube's killing, or any other crimes.

The team of 15 officers led by Director Charles Johnson - a seasoned detective who had also helped in the investigation into the death of mining magnate Brett Kebble - had been working "day and night" since the murder.

Dlamini added that the fourth and fifth suspects were taken into custody at Alberton and Spruitview respectively.

The suspects were all between 31 and 35 years old.

The green VW Polo was found in KwaThema near Springs on Sunday.

The vehicle was thought to have been hijacked in Alberton earlier this month.

In Spruitview - where the fifth suspect was arrested - the cops seized a Mercedes Benz, thought to have been stolen in Elands Park on Saturday.

Other items seized at the property included two plasma TV sets, a music centre, a DVD player and a bag of surgical gloves.

Dlamini said the possibility of more arrests could not be ruled out.

Assassination

Commissioner Richard Mdluli, deputy commissioner of the Gauteng police, said at the scene that they were convinced that they had the killers in custody.

"National Commissioner Jackie Selebi and the Provincial Commissioner Perumal Naidoo have sent their congratulations to the task team."

The suspects were expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

After hearing of the arrests on Sunday, "People's Poet" Mzwakhe Mbuli said he was convinced that Dube had been assassinated.

"We don't understand all this talk of a hijacking-gone-wrong, because his Chrysler car, his cellphone and wallet were left untouched.

"What the family does know, is that he was brutally murdered.

"They are devastated and angry because their father and son are no longer alive.

"They (the killers) showed him no mercy," said Mbuli.

"The country is celebrating a World Cup victory, but the fact is that we're still a nation in mourning, because Lucky is no longer here.

"The arrests bring some relief, but the wounds are still raw," Mbuli said.

- Beeld