One of South Africa's most successful artists has been shot dead in what police are calling a "botched hijacking" in Johannesburg. Reggae star Lucky Dube was attacked as he dropped his son off at a relative's house. The son was unharmed physically, though is presumably in mental shock after witnessing his father's murder.
Police arrested five suspects in connection with the shooting yesterday, with their spokesman, Eugene Opperman, telling AFP: "I can confirm that five suspects were arrested this morning. We confiscated two unlicenced guns, and four cars including the blue VW Polo that is believed to have been used on the night the crime was committed. The cars are believed to have been stolen".
The killing has been condemned by numerous key figures in the South African music community, and by South African President Thabo Mbeki who called Dube "an outstanding South African" adding: "We must... make a commitment that we shall continue to act together as a people to confront this terrible scourge of crime, which has taken the lives of too many of our people and does so every day".
Jay Savage of Sony/ATV South Africa, with whom Dube had a twenty album publishing relationship, added: "Lucky was the greatest African reggae artist and it was always a pleasure working with someone who is unquestionably the best in their field. He was always a bit of a maverick but knew how to act decisively which all make for a songwriter who is good to work with. His death is an unbelievable shock".