Lucky Dube with his band and singers on stage. The South African reggae icon was shot dead on Thursday, October 18, 2007 outside Johannesburg.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Johannesburg, South Africa
21 October 2007 11:22
http://www.luckydubemusic.com
Five men were arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube, East Rand police said.
Police arrested the five, aged between 31 and 35, in Spruitview on the East Rand on Sunday morning.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said police seized two stolen handguns and a VW Polo.
"Police also recovered three other stolen vehicles during the investigation this morning [Sunday]," he said.
The five are expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Opperman said: "The initial police reports regarding the murder being related to a botched hijacking remain correct."
A crack team of detectives had been assembled to search for the killers.
Dube was shot dead in Rosettenville at about 8.20pm on Thursday night. The singer was travelling in a grey Chrysler with his two teenage children at the time.
Legacy
Condolences spanned the length and breadth of the political and cultural spectrum, with everyone from President Thabo Mbeki to the South African Football Players' Union praising Dube's legacy and raising concerns about the level of violent crime.
Mbeki made an appeal to South Africans to confront the "scourge" of crime together.
"This is ... very, very sad that this happened to an outstanding South African -- an outstanding musician, world renowned," he said as he was leaving for France to support the Springboks in the World Cup final.
Mbeki conveyed his condolences to the family and also to Dube's fans in SA and around the world.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "For more than two decades he confronted pertinent social and political issues through his music, bringing to the fore the pain and suffering of many South Africans."
Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan called Dube one of the most "important and relevant" voices to come out of the country in the 20th century.
"What makes his death more painful is that it happened at a time when government has renewed its pledge to forge a partnership with people, communities and their institutions to fight crime," he said in a statement. - Sapa
Five held for murder of S. African reggae star
22 Oct 2007 09:37:37 GMT
Reuters
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Five people have been arrested in connection with the murder last week of reggae star Lucky Dube, South African police said on Monday.
Dube, 43, was shot three times in front of his two children on Thursday, in what police said was an attempted carjacking.
Police spokesman Superintendent Eugene Opperman said five men were arrested in an early morning raid on a house east of Johannesburg on Sunday and would appear in court on Tuesday.
"They will be appearing at the magistrate court to face various charges which will be specified later," he said.
Police said the suspects were aged between 31 and 35 and most of them were Mozambican.
Suspected stolen goods were found in the house, police said.
"The investigation is still going on and we hope to arrest more people," Opperman added.
The high-profile murder prompted new calls for a crackdown on violent crime in South Africa, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world.
Police figures showed the murder rate in rose 2.4 percent between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2007, with 19,202 murders recorded. The number of rapes, carjackings and assaults also remained high.
Best was last
22 October 2007
Edward Tsumele
‘I had never before seen Lucky Dube give such a spirited performance. ’Lucky gave his all at Macufe.
Reggae superstar Lucky Dube surprised many at this year’s Macufe festival in Bloemfontein when he performed for a crowd of only about 200 people.
Instead of being demoralised by the paltry crowd, like Jimi Hendrix’s legendary performance at the end of Woodstock, Dube gave a spirited performance “as if he was performing for thousands”.
This he had always done for more than two decades .
I was one of the lucky 200 that witnessed what turned out to be his last performance before he was murdered on Thursday.
To the surprise of the mostly Rastafarian audience who had travelled from Yeoville, Johannesburg, to see him , Dube performed most of his earlier songs. He did such masterpieces as I am a Slave, Prisoner as well as a selection of his late albums, and wrapped up the show with Respect from his latest album by the same name.
I had never before seen Dube give such a spirited performance. It was as if it was some kind of premonition.
When he wrapped up the show at the Bloemfontein Showgrounds, all of us who witnessed the performance showered him with praises for his professionalism. We forgot we were only 200 after all in a venue that accommodates tens of thousands, thanks to the bad organisation on the part of Macufe organisers.
Perhaps it was best for those of us who were at the show, because we did not have to share this sheer entertainment with hordes of others. It is unbelievable that the man is gone and I will not be able to dance to the music of this superstar again. The dance I did in Bloemfontein was the last one.
Life can sometimes be so unfair, cruel and heart-breaking. Go well Rastaman, and remember Rastas Never Die, for it is only the body that dies, and the spirit continues to live forever.
Music industry mourns Dube’s death
By Thobeka Magcai, 19 October 2007
Lucky Dube: 1964-2007
Tributes can be found at the following URL:
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=591189
Lucky Dube is remembered by those who knew him as a peaceful person. Sowetan Online spoke to Moses Tshabalala of the Soul Brothers, traditional Zulu musician Bhekumuzi Luthuli, and Bongo Maffin’s Thandiswa Mazwai, and this is what they had to say.
Moses Tshabalala:
I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news last night, I couldn’t sleep. I live in Eastgate and I thought I must go the place. I drove there and I saw his car, I saw his son, I was there until one in the morning. It was very shocking. Shocking and unbelievable.
Lucky, he’s a gentleman and he didn’t have enemies, he’s my friend. He gave me good advice on my work.
Bhekumuzi Luthuli:
Ngibuhlungu kakhulu, Ngibuhlungu kakhulu ziningi izinto engiz’fundile kuye (I’m deeply hurting, deeply hurting, there are many things I could have learned from him.
He was very knowledgeable. He liked to be a good father and a man of the home, he was everything to me, I learned so much from him.
Ngiyakhala kakhulu (I’m heavily crying). I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news; I got a SMS at 12:30 and couldn’t sleep until about 02:30. Ngiyakhala kakhulu, anginawo amanye amazwi (I’m heavily crying, I do not have more words to express how I feel).
Thandiswa Mazwai:
He was such a peaceful man. He is such a shock that he could be shot like that.
He helped launch our career as Bongo Maffin. We used to open for his concerts when he performed in America. I too am a fan and I’m shocked, I can’t believe that this happened.
YOUSSOU NDOUR CONDEMNS LUCKY DUBE’S MURDER
Senegal’s leading singer Youssou Ndour has voiced his profound shock at the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube in Johannesburg and warned of the dangers facing artists in South Africa.
“What has just happened is terrible,” Ndour said on his privately owned RFM radio, condemning “this appalling act”.
“For me, the big question to ask is about insecurity in South Africa, especially with respect to people who are messengers,” said Ndour. “It is not the first time that there are killings (of this kind) over there, well-known personalities or artists,” he added.
Dube’s murder poses “a big question which South African authorities must provide answers to,” he said. - AFP
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