Durban - A Durban Central policeman arrested in connection with the Glebelands Hostel murders last week was a resident at the uMlazi hostel.
Sergeant Bhekukwazi Mdweshu is the alleged mastermind behind the hostel murders that began in 2014, but calls to have him investigated apparently fell on deaf ears as the death toll escalated. It now stands at 100.
Residents and activists who said they had blown the whistle from the beginning reacted to his arrest, and that of eight other alleged hit men, saying they have nothing to celebrate just yet.
They hoped the arrests were not another public relations exercise to claim the police and government were doing something about the Glebelands situation and placed conviction success on the strength of the police case.
On Monday, after the men’s first court appearance, Violence Monitor and analyst Mary de Haas had questioned the sudden arrest.
She said from the beginning Mdweshu was allegedly the number one perpetrator, but appeals from the community and activists working within the hostel community were ignored.
De Haas said letters written to police officials in the
province questioning Mdweshu’s alleged criminal activities and requests for confirmation on whether he was a police officer were never replied to.
The 37-year-old police officer lived at three different hostel blocks. He first lived at the notorious Block 52 where the alleged ring leaders who bullied residents and collected money from tenants in each block, lived. He then moved to Block T where he reportedly rented out the room before he moved to stay at the new units at Block 42. At some point the police
officer was allegedly banned from the hostel for acts of
violence.