The murder of Mr Farouk Kalamadeen marks another bloody milestone in the history of crime in this country. It was not so much that he was killed – although that in itself was disturbing enough – it was the mutilation of his body which so appalled citizens. It is not the first time there has been a decapitation; there was one three years ago in Second Street, Agricola, which was said at the time to have been linked to drug gangs. However, in this instance, of course, Mr Kalamadeen had been held hostage for four weeks prior to his death. Considering that his family say that they received no ransom demand during that time, it makes the motive for his kidnapping and subsequent murder something of an enigma.
What the public is aware of is that this level of barbarity is usually associated with the drug cartels, but whether or not Mr Kalamadeen was involved in any kind of shadowy activity alongside his legitimate business – his family is adamant that he was not – he was certainly targeted by someone utterly ruthless whose actions were intended as a gruesome message to those who knew how to read it. It might be mentioned that those who were around during the events of 2002 will recall that he was one of the residents of Dadanawa Street, Campbellville, who returned fire when the five escapees conducted a sortie in the street, although whether that incident has any relevance to his kidnapping and murder six years later is difficult to say.
