Following a mass murder that rocked the community of Gugulethu over the weekend, Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu has expressed deep concern and outrage for the recent spate of mass killings that ripped through the Western Cape this week, reports Cape {town} Etc.
The tragic incident, which left seven men with fatal gunshot wounds in a residence in the Kanana informal settlement on Saturday night, came after a week of violence that included:
- The discovery of three male bodies, aged between 26 and 35, found in different but nearby locations in the C Section of the Samora Machel informal settlement on Tuesday, 24 June.
- A ‘vigilant-style’ shooting incident in Nyanga during an apparent hijacking, which led to the deaths of three suspected hijackers.
‘There is no doubt that the Cape Flats in Cape Town have indeed become the killing fields of the Western Cape, this with the latest shooting of seven people in Gugulethu,’ said Minister Mchunu, condemning the killings.
Just a day later, two men – aged 23 and 25 – were killed when gunmen allegedly entered a house on Bush Street in Nyanga and opened fire before fleeing the scene on Sunday morning.
‘What the Police Ministry and Police Top Management must refuse to do, is to treat this as a normal trend and keep the normal methods of policing in place. The situation requires full implementation of what the Ministry and Management have discussed and concluded over a considerable period of time now.’
Mchunu added that this series of incidents poses fundamental questions about the safety of people on the Cape Flats.
‘One thing that is crystal clear is that murderers are out there to kill. It is as if we have to choose between the people and the murderers – we actually do not have a choice,’ he said.
‘Police have a mandate to protect life and limb of the people, with no resources spared. The situation demands a targeted approach before these murders intensify their terror on people. They are not unknown to Police, they have to be found and confronted.’
Concluding his statement, Mchunu called on all levels of police management to act urgently and unleash all resources to tackle this surge of violent crime.
‘We call on all levels of Police Management to act decisively and urgently, stressing that communities cannot be abandoned to live in fear and under seige. We urge the National Commissioner and his team to activate and unleash all police resources to confront criminality and criminals,’ he added.
‘Members of the public are urged to support law enforcement efforts by sharing information that may lead to arrests and help bring perpetrators to justice. Police visibility, community engagement and targeted interventions will be ramped up with immediate effect.’
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Picture: ER Lombard / Gallo Images