Was Preggy Padayachee’s murder a warning to Feroz Khan?
· Citizen
Two possible motives are among the theories being contemplated in the murder of Preggy Padayachee, an uncle-in-law and close confidant of former Crime Intelligence deputy head Feroz Khan.
Questions about whether his killing was intended to send a warning to Khan ahead of his postponed testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry loom over the incident.
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Murder may be linked to Feroz Khan
A security services source said authorities were working with two theories.
The first is that Padayachee’s murder may be connected to Khan and what he potentially knows about organised crime.
The second rests on Padayachee’s activities as a moneylender and the possibility that he was lured to the R21 highway by somebody who owed him money.
Padayachee was killed on Monday evening, hours before Khan was due to give evidence behind closed doors yesterday.
Khan appeared remotely and in camera before the commission, but his testimony was postponed following Padayachee’s death.
The commission said a new date had yet to be determined.
Police have not established a motive
According to police, preliminary information indicated that the driver of a Fiat experienced a breakdown and contacted a friend for assistance.
The friend arrived with two other people and shots were fired while they were attending to the vehicle.
The driver attempted to escape the gunfire, lost control and crashed into a barrier. One person was killed and another wounded.
Police have not publicly established a motive.
The first theory, that the killing was intended as a message to Khan, follows a previous attempt on his life.
The former general survived an apparent assassination attempt outside his Houghton home on 28 June, shortly before he was due to appear before the commission for the first time.
Police subsequently brought the political killings task team into the investigation.
Padayachee was close to Khan
“Preggy was very close to former General Feroz Khan. In fact, he was one of the first people at Milpark Hospital after Feroz was shot,” the source said.
Padayachee subsequently spoke publicly on behalf of the family and said those responsible for the attack on Khan “must pay”.
“It’s bizarre that before Feroz was set to testify in person at the Madlanga commission, he got shot and, now, as he’s about to testify in camera, a close associate is shot and killed,” the source said.
“It’s as if somebody’s sending a message to Feroz that we’ve shot you as a warning because you know something, and now we are shooting someone close to you because you haven’t listened.”
The source said this line of inquiry was looking at possible links to individuals involved in other illicit trades.
Moneylending activity offers another theory
The second theory looks at Padayachee’s activities as a moneylender.
According to the source, he had lent substantial amounts of cash to high-stakes gamblers.
“At one stage, he was the biggest moneylender at Gold Reef City Casino,” the source claimed.
“He lent money to punters in the privé. We’re talking high rollers that need loans at hectic interest.”
According to this theory, Padayachee was due to meet somebody who owed him money.
The source claimed he had initially been asked to meet the person at Emperors Palace before the destination was changed while he was on his way there, purportedly because the person had a car breakdown on the R21.
Padayachee then agreed to meet him on the side of the highway, where the source said people may have been lying in wait.
He may also have been carrying cash because of his moneylending activities, potentially allowing the killing to be presented as a robbery.
But the source suggested the two theories may not necessarily be separate.
A gambler indebted to Padayachee could potentially have been used to lure him to the R21 by others wanting to send a message to Khan.
“Somebody else may have another debt on him and to pay them back, the guy was told, ‘Well, lure Preggy to this, so that we can send another message to Feroz’,” the source said.