- The Gugulethu Spiritual Crime Prevention Forum condemns ruthless killings in the area.
- A 15-year-old boy reportedly died after being caught in the crossfire.
- Five people were killed at NY5 on Saturday 30 September.
“Firearms are in the wrong hands and innocent people are dying because of that”, this is how Rev Zama Mfihlo described the dire crime situation in the Gugulethu policing precinct.
The spiritual leader and coordinator of the Gugulethu Spiritual Crime Prevention Forum (SCPG) has lashed out at the ruthless killing of people in the area.
According to him, criminals have lost their consciences. His remarks follow the killing of five people at NY5 on Saturday 30 September. The latest incident brought to more than 15 the total number of people brutally murdered in mass killings in the area since the end of August.
In the first incident, two men were shot and killed at Memani Street in KTC and a 15-year-old reportedly died later in hospital after being caught in the crossfire. (“KTC residents are concerned about their safety after several shooting incidents”, City Vision, Thursday 24 August).
A week later, another two men were gunned down, also at Memani Street, on Thursday 7 September and they were allegedly attacked by people who were driving an Avanza taxi. (“KTC the Cape’ no go zone”, City Vision, Thursday 24 September).
In a separate incident, five people in two different cars were ambushed at Fenqe Street in KTC by a group of people travelling in a minibus taxi (“Mass killing causes panic in the KTC community”, City Vision, Thursday 26 September).
A visibly distraught Mfihlo said the area requires a serious intervention. “The upper structure in the police sector needs to intervene and ensure that they are cleaning up the area. We need police visibility, roadblocks and stop and search operations daily,” said Mfihlo, adding that enough is enough.
He stated that the recent killing of five people at NY5 was premeditated. However, he could not say it was related to the previous incidents. “The sad part about these incidents is that people are killed in large numbers and that is what the officers need to investigate to ascertain the cause,” said Mfihlo.
Provincial police spokesperson Col Andre Traut confirmed that the Serious Violent Crimes (SVC) detectives in the province have initiated a murder investigation. He said the deceased were four men and a woman. “Police reports indicate that two vehicles were parked on the side of the road in NY 5 in Gugulethu at approximately 23:00 when a number of suspects were dropped a few metres from the two vehicles by another vehicle. The suspects approached the two vehicles and started firing numerous shots at the two parked vehicles. After the shooting, the suspects fled in the vehicle that had earlier dropped them,” said Traut.