Residents from Mbekweni in Paarl along with family members of 27-year-old Siphokazi Booi, whose body is believed to have been dismembered and burnt, are calling on the South African Police Service to take more action.
According to IOL, Booi was last seen by her friends on Friday morning, allegedly arguing with her boyfriend in his shack.
However, just after 3pm on Sunday, residents discovered the charred remains of a woman believed to be Booi at a dumping site near the railway lines after following an unusual smell that came from the smoke.
Police spokesperson, Joseph Swartbooi confirmed that a 30-year-old male was taken in for questioning as a “person of interest”, but no arrests have been made as yet and a murder investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, protestors gathered outside the Mbekweni police station on Monday, demanding arrests and justice for the murdered woman, reports News24.
Minister Fritz said, “we refuse to normalize the criminality we see on our streets. We refuse to become desensitized to it. The crime on our streets is outrageous, and as the Provincial Government we are demanding greater policing resources in the Western Cape so that the SAPS can be more effective in fighting crime.”
“We are determined to bring down these figures, and we are going to fight every fight that we have to in order to do just that. Practically, I am going to instruct my department to follow up on all these cases as far as we can in terms of our current powers. We have an advocate who works with gender-based violence cases in the Court Watching Brief Unit, and my hope is that he will assist in attaining justice for that woman. And our LEAP Officers are going to continue their work of bringing greater visible policing to our communities. But we need more SAPS resources in this province. That remains the unavoidable reality.”
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