South African reggae star Lucky Dube has been killed in a botched hijack attempt on the 18th October and now a team of detectives are hunting for the killers as public outrage against violent crime mounted.

The man who recorded the album 'Rastas Never Die' was gunned down in front of his teenage son and daughter in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. His attackers left his Chrysler behind and fled in a blue VW Polo.

"Dube's son was already out of the car when the shots were fired. When he saw what was happening, he ran to ask for help," said police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht.

Gauteng's police commissioner Perumal Naidoo has hand-picked a team of investigators to track down Dube's killers as tributes poured in for the star from the great and the good including South Africa's President.