Cape Town - A total of 47 murders were recorded in the metro region of the Western Cape over the weekend with 27 shootings, 13 stabbings and seven murders by other means, Premier Alan Winde said on Monday.
Among the dead were a mother from Kuilsriver who was stabbed by her teenage son, and a 29-year-old taxi driver who was shot in the face multiple times.
“This weekend was another devastating weekend in the metro with 47 murders recorded. In addition to these weekend deaths, we also saw the tragic shooting of Sadiqah Newman, who was eight months pregnant, in Manenberg, and the discovery of Meghan Cremer’s body on Thursday. Both of these young women had their lives cut short by senseless violence. We need to put a stop to this,” Winde said in a statement.
“We welcome the fact that police made swift arrests in both of these cases and hope that the criminal justice system will do its work to ensure that those responsible for these deaths are removed from society and unable to hurt more people."
Winde said his office would be writing to police management to request a full report back on the role and effectiveness of the South African army since their deployment, as well as South African Police Service’ (Saps) plans to fight crime in the province going forward.
“Violence like we’ve seen over the past weekend impacts the whole province and all areas of government. We have seen the strain that violence is placing on our health system, with massive increases in gunshot injuries resulting in other surgeries which are not life threatening, being pushed back.
“We see the impact of violence on children and teachers in schools and it impacts our ability as a province, to attract the investment we need in order to grow the economy and create jobs which assist in solving the crime crisis in this province,” Winde said.