DURBAN - POLICE recovered drugs, illegal firearms and stolen items in uMgungundlovu district, one of KwaZulu-Natal’s crime hot spots, at the weekend. This came days after Premier Sihle Zikalala raised concerns that the province was becoming the murder and rape capital.
The raid, headed by provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and comprising police officers from different police stations and units, targeted several areas and resulted in 81 people being arrested. The uMgungundlovu district includes Pietermaritzburg and the Midlands.
According to the quarterly crime statistics presented by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday, Inanda, uMlazi and Plessislaer police stations were among the top four stations for the highest number of murders. Cele released the crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year, covering the period October 1 to December 31, 2021.
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla welcomed the weekend raid, saying he hoped it would be one of many.
“We want our people to live in a safe environment, able to go about their daily routines without fear of coming under attack from criminals,” he said.
He added that they were worried that other local police stations, particularly Alexander and Mountain Rise, appeared to be lagging behind when it came to making arrests.
“We will seek an audience with the top management in the district cluster to get a sense of what can be done to stem the tide of crime.”
The city would also activate its Public Safety Unit to conduct regular patrols.
According to the police, the raid yielded positive results, which included the 81 arrests and the confiscation of drugs, alcohol and illegal firearms.
The latest crime statistics in KZN showed that there were increases in the number of murders, hijackings and house robberies compared to the same period in the previous year
There were decreases noted for business robberies, sexual offences and crimes detected as a result of police action, including drug-related crime, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and drunk driving.
Violence monitor Mary de Haas said the latest crime statistics showed that crime levels, especially that of violent crime, remained high.
Reasons cited for the current state of affairs were poor police management, irregular operational interference by the minister, poor morale because of irregular appointments, targeting of members opposing corruption and inadequate resourcing of police stations.
“The SAPS is a mess and until wholesale changes take place at a top level, we will be lamenting the high crime rate both in the province and in the country each quarter. We have got to do something and do it quickly,” De Haas warned. She also blamed Parliament for failing to pass legislation giving the Independent Police Investigative Directorate independence from the police ministry.
University of KwaZulu-Natal academic Dr Lubna Nadvi said the high levels of violent crime reflected socio-economic realities. She was also critical of political rhetoric which she said reflected poor political leadership and often resulted in killings.
“One of the main problems is lack of capacity with our policing, whether from the specialised units, the availability of police vans or adequate personnel at the stations,” said the academic.
The recent spat involving the Police minister and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, Nadvi noted, was not an encouraging sign in crime-prevention.
She echoed the sentiment that Saturday’s raid should be a regular occurrence as it would boost the public’s confidence in the police.
DA member of the provincial legislature Sharon Hoosen said people were looking to the minister and the police to provide solutions to the crime problem.
“Anyone living in our province already knows that crime is rife. What we need is crime figures with solid solutions that will hold both him and MEC Peggy Nkonyeni, and her department, to account,” she said.
ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said they were equally worried about the high levels of crime, especially as there did not seem to be arrests in many of the cases.
He also expressed concern at the killing of ANC members.
“We can acknowledge our concern about high crime rates and the failure of the police to turn around that situation.”
THE MERCURY