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Diplomat killed in South Africa

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zimbabwe's vice-consul to South Africa was shot and killed at the weekend in front of his 11-year-old son in an attempted car hijacking incident.

    Captain Rochelle Gouws, spokeswoman for the South African Police Service (SAPS) told IRIN on Monday that the incident took place in Bedfordview, a suburb in the east of Johannesburg.

    She said the vice-consul had arrived at a colleague's house to deliver VIP permits. "When he arrived the vice-consul was confronted by a group of armed men, who then demanded his BMW and shot the diplomat in the head." Gouws added: "At this stage we can not say how many men were involved in the incident."

    Gouws said the diplomat was accompanied by his 11-year-old son, who was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for shock. The vehicle was later recovered on the M3 highway to Pretoria. When asked about security, Gouws said "at that specific residents there were no security guards on duty."

    Meanwhile media reports identified the diplomat as Madzorera Meki. President Thabo Mbeki was quoted in 'Business Day' as saying that he hoped the perpetrators would be arrested and "brought to book as quickly as possible."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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