Kaizer Chiefs defender Luke Fleurs died in a botched hijacking this week in Johannesburg. One of the suspects fled in his VW Golf 8 GTI. Volkswagen hatchbacks are one of the vehicles most targeted by hijackers. Photos: Instagram/ @lukefleurs and Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
The tragic death of Kaizer Chiefs central defender and Olympian Luke Fleurs made international headlines this week and put the spotlight once again on the scourge of violent hijackings in our country.
Fleurs was shot and killed during a hijacking attempt in the northern Johannesburg suburb of Honeydew on Wednesday, 3 April. He turned 24 just a month ago on 1 March.
Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni has appointed a team of detectives to search for the talented footballer’s killers who made off with his red Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI sports hatchback.
According to a police report, Fleurs was waiting to be served by an attendant at the petrol station on 14th Avenue.
The last thing on his mind was surely that he won’t be leaving again in his sporty ride which he so proudly shared with his Instagram followers in October last year after joining Kaizer Chiefs from SuperSport United.
A new Golf 8 GTI sells for R669 300 and is the “bigger brother” of the VW Polo which is a firm favourite among hijackers.
Gauteng police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, said Fleurs was confronted by two armed males who pulled into the service station in a white BMW 1 Series.
“The suspects pointed a firearm at him and pulled him out of his vehicle before shooting him once in the upper body. One of the suspects then drove off with the soccer player’s car followed by his accomplice.”
Fleurs was taken to the nearest medical care centre where he was certified dead on arrival.
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A case of murder and car hijacking are being investigation, with no arrests made at this point.
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In the past, Honeydew and Roodepoort topped the list of being the areas most targeted by hijackers in Gauteng.
According to the quarterly crime statistics released in February this year, carjacking increased by 6.5% year on year – with half of the country’s hijackings taking place in Gauteng.
The statistics showed that, in just three months (October to December 2023), there were 5 973 vehicle hijacking cases.
Of the 5 973 cases of hijacking, 3 010 (50%) took place in Gauteng. This was followed by KwaZulu-Natal, which accounted for 14% (834 cases) of all hijackings in the country.
Crime hub manager at the Institute for Security Studies, Lizette Lancaster, told News24 that there were, on average, 62 hijackings a day. The number had doubled over 10 years, with an average of 31 hijackings a day in 2013.
Lancaster said there were definitive hotspots for hijacking, with almost half of all reported cases occurring in Gauteng. Of those, around half happen in Johannesburg.
The police precincts with the highest recorded cases of hijackings were Ivory Park in Gauteng; Philippi East, Harare and Nyanga in the Western Cape; and Moroka, Loate, Orange Farm, Eldorado Park, Tembisa and Jabulani in Gauteng.
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According to Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann, vehicle hijackings is largely a business driven by demand and supply on the black market.
Bartmann added that about 30% of stolen and hijacked vehicles were taken across the border into neighbouring countries.
The crime statistics for the period of October 2021 to September 2022 revealed that a whopping R4.9 billion worth of vehicles are taken across the border every year. That’s pretty much what it cost to build The Mall of Africa…
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In January this year, Fidelity Services Group identified the seven most hijacked cars for 2023. They are:
In November last year, the Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, ironically, fell prey to a hijacking incident.
The tyres of the minister’s vehicle were punctured by spikes placed on the N3 highway south of Johannesburg.
This incident took place in the early hours of the morning when Chikunga was en route to Pretoria, between Vosloorus and Heidelberg.
“The tyres of the minister’s car were punctured by spikes, bringing the car to a stop enabling the criminals to rob the occupants of valuables,” the transport ministry said in a statement.
National police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, said at the time that the hijackers got away with personal belongings and two South African Police Service (Saps) pistols.
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