Last night, at around 6PM, former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs striker Marc Batchelor was gunned down.
Two men on motorcycles opened fire on Batchelor’s vehicle outside his home in Olivedale, close to Bryanston. According to police reports, he was shot through the window several times and died on the scene.
Whilst police are investigating a case of murder, it’s widely understood that this was an orchestrated ‘hit’. CapeTalk’s Kieno Kammies spoke with journalist and author Mandy Wiener about what may have led to Batchelor’s murder:
She says the close grouping of bullets seen on the windscreen of the car is indicative of such weapons [semi-automatic].
Weiner says the killing was similar to organised crime hits seen in the Johannesburg area, mostly involving Serbian organised crime as well as other individuals.
“It fits the modus operandi completely…MB was quite a colourful individual and often popped up in somewhat nefarious circumstances.”
Weiner notes when he was a SuperSport commentator he was taken off the air.
“He was involved in assaulting a businessman at a Parkhurst restaurant. He was very close to Mikey Schultz and the self-confessed Brett Kebble killers. He was regularly seen with them out and about.”
Batchelor was also regularly seen in court during the Oscar Pistorius trial:
At the time of the shooting, Batchelor’s gardener and dog were also in the car. For those who are wondering about the condition of either:
When Wiener contacted Mikey Schultz to ask about Batchelor, he said he had distanced himself from the former footballer:
“He said ‘Batch’ had become involved in ‘knocking people’ – robbing people – and gone rogue.”
Having reported extensively on the murky world of South African criminal enterprise, Wiener made contact with underworld figure Nafiz Modack:
“He said whoever was responsible for this will pay because ‘Batch was not a man of war, he was a family man.”
When Modack spoke with News24, he said he knew who was after Batchelor, so we can only assume some kind of retribution will be forthcoming.
You can listen to the full Kieno Kammies interview with Mandy Wiener below:
[source:capetalk]
