South Africa's Assassination Economy and Impunity

Contract killings are becoming a business in South Africa. In this episode, we investigate the rise of what some call an “assassination economy,” where teachers, civil servants, police officers, and politicians are gunned down by hired killers known as izinkabi. Once limited to gang rivalries, these murders now stem from corruption, political infighting, and organized crime—fueled by poverty that makes killing for pay an option for desperate young men, and by deep impunity worsened by police complicity. Arrests do happen, but rarely enough to stop the spread. What happens to a state when people are murdered simply for doing their jobs—and killing becomes just another line of work?

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/07/10/got-an-enemy-hire-a-killer