Brett Kebble
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Roger Brett Kebble (February 19, 1964 - September 27, 2005) was a South African mining magnate with close links to factions in the ruling political party, the African National Congress. He was shot to death in 2005 by unknown assailants.
Brett was born in the mining town of Springs, on the East Rand.
He matriculated from St. Andrew's School, Bloemfontein, in 1981, and then went on to the University of Cape Town, from where he graduated in 1986.
His first job was as an articled clerk for Mallinicks Cape Town, in the late 1980s.
He was involved in the sale by Anglo American of its JCI gold assets to Mzi Khumalo in 1995, but the partnership ended soon after.
In August 2005 he was deposed from the companies he ran, Western Areas, JCI and Randgold & Exploitation, following moves by concerned investors and stakeholders. There is an investigation to determine the whereabouts of some R2-billion-worth of Randgold Resources shares, which Randgold & Exploration could not easily account for and which had either been loaned out or sold. [1] [2] [3]
In public and private, Kebble lived a flamboyant life[citation needed]. He had strong business and political connections with ousted Deputy President Jacob Zuma[citation needed] and the ANC Youth League[citation needed], and was viewed by some[who?] as a black-economic empowerment visionary.
He married Ingrid in December 1990 and they had four children.
[edit] Death
He was shot dead near a bridge over the M1 in Melrose Johannesburg at around 9pm on 27 September 2005 while driving to a dinner engagement. An autopsy performed three days after the murder found that the bullets were a rare, 'low velocity' type used by bodyguards and crack security operatives. The purpose of such bullets, which requires a specially adapted pistol, was to hit assassins and terrorists without passing through their bodies and hitting bystanders or hostages. Despite the closer range, the gunpowder burns in general were not severe, providing further evidence that the ammunition was of a special "reduced charge". [1]. As of September, 2006, the murder is still unsolved. Legal action is now ongoing to resolve the issue of the missing Randgold and Exploration shares. As of April 2007, a tentative agreement had been reached providing for the merging of Ranggold and Exploration and JCI, the company to which Kebble transferred most ot the proceeds of the R&E shares.
On 16 November 2006 businessman Glenn Agliotti was arrested in connection with the murder of Brett Kebble. Agliotti is a close personal friend of South African Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Agliotti is alleged to have strong links with organised crime and racketeering. [2].
[edit] The Brett Kebble Art Awards
Kebble was the controversial patron of the Brett Kebble Art Awards which he established in 2003 to provide a showcase for established artists and help those less known attain recognition as well as build a non-racial bridge into the 21st century.
The Kebble as it became known, was the most inclusive award of its kind (often criticized for including a “craft” category to be judged on par with the other mediums like painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography) in South Africa. Adding to this, it was also the richest, having a total purse of R620 000 (roughly $98 000) with a grand prize of R200 000 (roughly $32 000).
After Kebble’s murder, his family decided to cancel the 2006 awards.
In February 2006, artist Deborah Weber opened with a solo exhibition in Johannesburg called The Kebble on the same day that the BKAA were to open at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. She explored the time trajectory from being selected as an artist for the 2004 Kebble Art Awards, to working on the awards in 2005 ending with Brett Kebble’s death in September 2005.
