Senzo Meyiwa, Lucky Dube, Mandla Hlatshwayo, Dumi Masilela... Crime Has Robbed Us Of Great Talents And It Must Stop

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Police officers carry the casket of South African national soccer captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa at his funeral service in Durban on November 1 2014.
Police officers carry the casket of South African national soccer captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa at his funeral service in Durban on November 1 2014.
Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

The thing about crime is that it hits when we least expect it, and it has a tendency to leave us feeling shattered.

South Africa has lost some of its great talents to criminals.

In 2007, Lucky Dube was killed in a botched hijacking.

His killers were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.

Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead on October 26 2014, at the home of his girlfriend, Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus.

His killers are still on the loose.

Earlier this year, former Generations actor and radio DJ Mandla Hlatshwayo and one of his friends were shot and killed outside a pub when they responded to a call for help from women who were allegedly being attacked outside by robbers in Pimville, Soweto.

Days later, four men suspected to have killed the duo were arrested.

Last week, South Africa woke up to the news that actor and musician Dumi Masilela had been killed.

He was shot in an attempted hijacking in Tembisa and later died in hospital during surgery.

Reacting to Masilela's murder, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said he was saddened by the way in which brutality robs the country of its talents.

Actress and events guru Sophie Ndaba previously told HuffPost SA that celebrities are not immune to crime.

"The rate at which South Africa is losing both talented artists and ordinary people to crime is alarming. The thing is, crime levels in the general society are at an alarming rate and as celebrities, we are not immune to that. We are part of the general society and are exposed to the same risk and challenges faced by fellow members of society as far as crime is concerned," said Ndaba.

She added: "I know that when a hijacker attacks you, they don't look at your face. They are there on a mission and they will take what they want before looking at you and maybe realise it at a later stage, when your story hits the news, that it was actually a celebrity they attacked. So I think celebs are in just as much danger as other people in the communities we live in."

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