Thirty years after the assassination of national soccer boss Rama Kuppan Reddy, the Asherville community is again urging police to reopen one of South Africa’s most chilling unsolved murders.
Reddy, president of the SA Soccer Federation and a respected insurance consultant, was killed on 3 December 1994 in what police called a professional hit. He was hijacked in Quarry Road, Springfield, driven to Merebank’s Cuttings Beach where he was assaulted and strangled, then left in his car near his Sydenham home.
The killing came months after South Africa’s democratic elections and return to world sport, and shocked the football fraternity. Widely seen as a kingmaker, Reddy was instrumental in unifying rival soccer bodies and exposing corruption in the game. Family and colleagues believe this made him a target. “He was fearless, but that fearlessness cost him,” said one associate.
Despite a R250,000 police reward, no arrests were made. Five of his siblings have since died without answers, including his brother Chin, who pursued the case before taking his own life. His sister Angela Naidoo, who inherited his Asherville home, passed away in May this year.
The Asherville Sports Memoir group, which includes anti-apartheid sports leader Sam Ramsamy and former Robben Island prisoner Dr Saths Cooper, has renewed calls for justice. Former deputy mayor Logie Naidoo recalled Reddy presenting him with a community award hours before his murder.
KZN police say additional information is needed before a new team can review the case. The family’s appeal to lobby group AfriForum has also stalled. For Asherville and South African football, Reddy’s unsolved murder remains a haunting reminder of a legacy silenced and justice denied.
