Cape Town - FOUR more names have been added to the tally of people who have been murdered in mass shootings in Khayelitsha.
Last night, four people were murdered in Khayelitsha Site B when unknown gunmen opened fire at a supermarket.
The shooting happened two days after the Gugulethu mass shooting that left three dead and two injured on Sunday night.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa, said unknown men entered the Madiba supermarket in Sulani Drive and opened fire.
“Three of those shot inside the shop died on the scene whilst a fourth victim who was seriously injured was transported to a medical facility for treatment. He later died in hospital as a result of the injuries suffered.”
She added that organised crime detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident
Although Potelwa said identities of the deceased have not been confirmed yet, the Weekend Argus has been reliably informed that it is Somali shop owners and keepers including another person from Malawi.
The shooting is also believed to be extortion related and a police source said, there has been an increase in extortion gangs and now they target the same businesses. The source said businesses cannot pay more than once as the groups arrive at different times demanding protection. When businesses do not pay, those inside are shot at.
Two Somali businessmen were shot dead by suspected extortionists in Strand on Saturday. Another two were gunned down in Langa two week ago.
Meanwhile, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is calling for the firing of Police Minister Bheki Cele. The minister was in Cape Town visiting the family of the slain police officer Siyabonga Mphakathi. The 49-year-old warrant officer attached to the SAPS Rapid Rail Unit was driving towards the Phillipi railway station in his vehicle when he was shot through a vehicle window by unknown suspects. The officer died on the scene.
“Following the release of the latest quarterly crime statistics on Friday, it is clear that the national minister of police, Bheki Cele, is not doing enough to improve policing and for the protection of residents in our city and country,” said Hill-Lewis
“The national minister has repeatedly shown he is not fit for the job, and it is time for President Ramaphosa to act. This is why I support Western Cape premier, Alan Winde’s call for Minister Cele to be fired.”
He added that the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government had collectively made massive investments to deploy more than 1 100 additional local law enforcement officers under the LEAP programme to make up for the ongoing police resource shortages in the region.
“This investment has enabled law enforcement to triple its arrest rate in recent years. Contrary to Minister Cele’s calls for all policing to be centralised under the national government, the exact opposite is what is really needed – policing powers need to be devolved to capable provincial and municipal governments.”