South African mining magnate Brett Kebble killed

JOHANNESBURG - Controversial South African mining magnate Brett Kebble was shot and killed while on his way to a dinner engagement on Tuesday, police and a family spokesman said.

"Brett Kebble died on Tuesday evening in Johannesburg after shots were fired at his car," spokesman David Barritt said in a statement.

Mr Kebble, a patron of South African arts, stepped down as chief executive from three interlinked South African mining firms after they ran into financial problems.

Police said they were investigating whether Mr Kebble's murder was just another statistic in South Africa's notorious crime rate or if he was deliberately targeted.

"The motive for the murder of Mr Kebble is uncertain. There are two possibilities: Either it was a direct attempt on his life or it was a hijack attempt," police spokesman Chrsi Wilken said.

Nothing was taken from the luxury German vehicle, Mr Wilken said, adding a passerby alerted police to the shooting.

He said Mr Kebble had been shot a number of times on a bridge spanning a major Johannesburg highway in the city's affluent northern suburbs.

Mr Kebble, who trained as a lawyer and worked as a corporate financier before succeeding his father Roger as head of Western Areas, Randgold & Exploration and one of South Africa's oldest mining firms JCI Ltd.

JCI got a cash injection and new management, while Western Areas said it would go ahead with a rights issue to raise cash.

Last month the bourse suspended the listings of JCI and Randgold and Exploration after they failed to file annual financial statements.

- REUTERS