Durban - UMLAZI police station urgently needed 28 officers and 21 vehicles to fight crime in the township, said Police Minister Bheki Cele during his visit to two separate murder crime scenes in the township on Thursday.
Cele started at Zamani informal settlement in U section uMlazi, where six people were shot and killed on Saturday night, before proceeding to W section where five people were murdered on Tuesday night.
He said one of the reasons the police seemed ineffective in fighting crime in the township was a shortage of resources, including police officers and vehicles, which were at garages being repaired.
During the visit to the police station, the Daily News saw a Nyala police vehicle parked with a punctured tyre.
The station is responsible for the notorious Glebelands hostel, where more than 100 people have been killed over the years. The shortages of manpower and resources were also attributed to the police’s failure to deal with the civil unrest in July, which left more than 300 people dead and a trail of destroyed property in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The police had not recruited for the past two years and the country was short of 14 000 officers, said Sharon Hoosen, a DA MPL and member of the Safety and Community Liaison portfolio committee .
Cele also revealed that at both uMlazi crime scenes, the police have profiled the deceased and discovered that most of them were known criminals. He said although the motive had yet to be determined, there was a strong possibility that it was revenge.
At the Zamani informal settlement, he said three of the deceased had been involved in criminal activities and were using the house as a hideout, adding that they were from Folweni. A local resident, who asked not to be named, said the three lived large and always had money, but were not employed.
In the attack, Mphathiseni Manyoni and his girlfriend Xolisile Mzimela were shot while cooking supper. Among those killed were 14-year-old Mnelisi Mbhele, Lindokuhle Madida and Luyanda Khomo. Madida and Khomo were from Folweni and rented a house. It is suspected they were on the run from another gang in Folweni.
In the W section murders, Bongani Thabethe, who was described by locals as the ringleader of a gang that was terrorising the community, died with Minennhle Mhlengi Shinga, an ex-convict, Mkhulu Boy Terrence Ngcobo, and two others known as Melokuhle and Brazil.
Cele said three others had been seriously injured and rushed to hospital. No arrests had been made yet.
Locals described all the deceased as heartless criminals who had been terrorising them. They said they were celebrating their deaths because they would be able to walk freely in the streets at night.
Daily News