Cape Town – Philippi residents were living in
fear as the people suspected of killing six women returned to the area,
a community leader said.
The resident, aged between 18 to 26, were killed in July in Marcus Garvey informal settlement.
The incident had forced the police to place the area under a 72-hour lockdown.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana yesterday said the investigation was ongoing.
“Provincial detectives are making progress and following up on possible leads,” said Rwexana.
But Philippi community leader Ncedo Marikeni said that since the shootings, things had gone from bad to worse.
He said residents suspected the assailants were back in the area. He would not comment further as he feared for his life.
“The residents live in fear in these communities, the crime is worse than before. The shootings are happening in broad daylight. It is worse on the weekends.
“Last week, an 11-year-old was hit by a stray bullet near Marikana during a shooting between criminals and taxi drivers.
“The saddest part is that you cannot point out these criminals, as we are scared of what will happen to us,” said Marikeni.
In July, Police Minister Bheki Cele told residents that he would draft a technical response team to combat crime in Philippi East.
Police in the Western Cape then offered a reward of R70 000 for information which would lead to the arrest of each of the suspects.
Marikeni said that the newly deployed station commander at the Philippi East police station needed to make the case a top priority and deploy new detectives.
Marikeni said: “This was not the first time 10 or more people have been gunned down on a single weekend in the area and as residents we have lost faith in the police.
‘‘The same thing happened in 2017, 11 people were shot dead on a single weekend, then Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula came to visit the Marikana community and promised more police resources for Philippi East station.
"But since then still nothing has been done, but the situation is getting worse by day.”
Anyone with information can contact anonymously contact Crime Stop on 086 001 0111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.