A senior South African police officer has survived an assassination attempt in what sources describe as a targeted hit. The officer, whose identity remains protected for security reasons, was ambushed outside his Johannesburg home late last night. Three unknown assailants opened fire with automatic weapons, but the officer escaped with minor injuries. His vehicle was riddled with bullets.
The attack has sent shockwaves through South Africa's law enforcement community, already reeling from a string of murders targeting police officials. The UK government has swiftly offered counter-terrorism support, with MI5 and Scotland Yard specialists reportedly en route to Pretoria. A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the offer, stating: "We stand with our South African partners in the fight against organised crime and political violence."
But the question on everyone's lips is simple: who ordered the hit? This is no random street crime. The officer was a key figure in the Hawks, the elite anti-corruption unit dismantling criminal networks linked to high-level politicians and businessmen. Sources close to the investigation tell me the officer had recently received death threats after seizing documents detailing money laundering operations involving a state-owned enterprise. The same sources say several powerful figures are now "nervous."
South African Police Service (SAPS) national commissioner Fanie Masemola has declared a state of emergency within the force. "We will hunt down these cowards," he said in a press conference that felt more like a war briefing. But the rank and file are scared. This is the fifth assassination attempt on senior SAPS officers in two years. Only two suspects have been charged. The rest walk free.
The timing is suspect. The attack comes just days before a parliamentary inquiry into police corruption, where the officer was scheduled to testify against a former cabinet minister. That minister, whose name this newspaper is legally constrained from publishing pending charges, has denied any wrongdoing. But I have seen the bank records. They tell a different story.
This is where the story gets murky. The British offer of support is a double-edged sword. While welcomed by President Ramaphosa's administration, it raises questions about South Africa's ability to police itself. For years, we have watched as the state capture commission laid bare a rot from the top. Now, we are calling in the former colonial power to help secure our streets. There are whispers in the corridors of power that the UK's real interest lies in protecting British mining and banking interests in the region. The UK Foreign Office flatly denies this, pointing to a mutual legal assistance treaty signed in 2019.
But let's be honest. No one trusts anyone. The officer who survived this attack knows too much. He is now under 24-hour protection, moved to a safe house guarded by British intelligence operatives. The question is whether that is enough. In South Africa, no one is safe. Not the rich, not the poor, not the police who are supposed to protect us.
I have a source inside the Hawks who says the hit was contracted by a well-known Cape Town syndicate with links to a Russian oligarch currently under EU sanctions. The syndicate's leader, a man known only as 'The Jackal,' is believed to be operating out of a villa in Mozambique. Interpol has been notified, but extradition will be a nightmare.
This story is not going away. The bodies are piling up. The money is moving. And somewhere, in a secure room in Pretoria or London, the people behind this are already planning their next move. We will keep digging.
