South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations was robbed at gunpoint at his son’s home in Johannesburg on weekend, the latest in a string of attacks on prominent South Africans, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Dumisani Kumalo was ambushed by three armed men in the driveway of his son’s house on Saturday night, shortly after landing at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, the Star said.
The thieves took Kumalo’s luggage and cellphones, and wallets belonging to him and a number of others who were at the house to attend a birthday party for Kumalo’s grandson. One of the guests was shot in the abdomen.
”I was terrified. These kids [the robbers] are just reckless. You never know if they are going to kill you,” Kumalo was quoted as saying.
On Monday South Africa’s tourism minister warned that the country’s high levels of crime were keeping millions of potential overseas visitors away, a serious concern as the nation prepares to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
South Africa has seen its murder rate, one of the highest in the world, increase in the past year. The incidence of reported rapes, carjackings and violent assaults also has remained worryingly high.
The wife of Tokyo Sexwale, a millionaire businessmen who may run to succeed President Thabo Mbeki as leader of the ruling African National Congress, and Raymond Hack, the head of South Africa’s football association, are among those who have been victims of crime in recent months. — Reuters