Multiple shootings prompt Cele to visit

Police Minister Bheki Cele visits the Khayelitsha police station. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)

Police Minister Bheki Cele visits the Khayelitsha police station. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Feb 6, 2021

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Cape Town - Minister of Police Bheki Cele has hinted the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) might be called upon to combat multiple shootings in the Western Cape.

Cele visited affected police stations earlier this week after 11 people were shot dead in three separate incidents last weekend. Six people were killed in Khayelitsha, followed by the killings of another two people in the same suburb in a possible revenge attack. And in Ravensmead, three people were killed.

He said the perpetrators of the crimes needed to be arrested and if reinforcements were needed to end the shootings, they could approach the SANDF for help.

“If we need reinforcements we’ll continue to bring more police and we still have the leeway of using the members of the SANDF. If that call is made, we will work with the national and provincial offices to increase the reinforcement in the area.”

Cele said there has been much crime in Khayelitsha, where six people were shot and killed and one injured and in hospital.

“Two more people were shot and killed after the six. The suspicion, and it remains a suspicion, is that the second shooting could be a retaliation of the first shooting but nobody has been arrested yet, but we are not far from the people we are pursuing.”

Criminologist from Stellenbosch University Guy Lamb said bringing SANDF in was not the answer.

“The army would only be a temporary solution to the problem because once everything would seem to have died down, the army would leave. The bottom line is that the solution to this is police visibility.”

He said crime intelligence needed to be managed properly because it was failing.

“All of this comes down to crime intelligence, but because of internal fighting, intelligence has been compromised.”

Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said police management was concerned about the multiple murders.

“It is on this basis the investigations into these cases have been assigned to specialist detectives on a provincial level for coordination and identification of similarities in incidents, profiling of and the subsequent arrest of suspects.”

About the Khayelitsha attack, she said detectives were currently pursuing specific leads, and a breakthrough would be made in due course.

Potelwa said the anti-gang unit (AGU) has taken over the Ravensmead triple murder investigation. Two teenagers and a 45-year-old man were killed.

“As part of their ongoing investigation, they arrested a 26-year-old suspect who has since appeared in court on Tuesday.”

Lamb said the shootings were caused by different reasons and often, they involved groups competing with each other.

“These groups compete with each other trying to extort money from businesses because businesses pay protection fees to them. Some are caused due to revenge attacks.”

Weekend Argus

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