Cape Town - An increase in gang activity has baffled community activists, politicians and crime experts after yet another mass murder.
This after the police initiated a 72-hour activation plan in search of the gunmen who killed five people in the Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha on Monday.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said initial reports indicated that unknown gunmen approached shacks located at the “Monwabisi Park” informal settlement on Monday.
She said a woman and four men were killed. Organised crime detectives were investigating the murders.
The victims, who were yet to be identified, were estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old.
When the Cape Argus visited the scene, provincial police commissioner General Thembisile Patekile and crime experts were still scouring the area where the murders occurred.
Ntombenkosi Nogaga, a relative of Asanda Nogaga, the woman who was killed, said she received a call from people in the community.
“They did not tell us what happened until we arrived at the scene with my mother,” Nogaga said.
She said Asanda was the only best friend she had growing up, and described her as an active, loving sister who liked enjoyment.
One of the community leaders, Funeka Sigadi, said: “There are many crime incidents in the area, and most of them happen in unoccupied shacks.”
Sigadi said they would like the authorities to deal with the unoccupied shacks because they were used by criminals.
Guy Lamb, a criminologist at Stellenbosch University's political science department, said there were many possible reasons for what happened in Khayelitsha with regard to the mass shooting and killing of people.
Lamb said it had happened before in Khayelitsha and some incidents were related to extortion rackets, whereas others were related to criminality or personal vendettas.
“So we unfortunately have to wait for statements from the police to give us a bit more information about this. But, of course, access to firearms and easy access to illegal firearms does make these kinds of incidents a lot more prevalent within South Africa,” Lamb said.
Acting Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais called on the police to leave no stone unturned in their investigation to ensure that the guilty parties were brought to book.
Khayelitsha Community Policing Forum (CPF) cluster chairperson Fransina Lukas said communities must neither normalise nor tolerate the continued killing of people.
She said the incident was shocking as it happened a day after the CPF conducted an anti-crime campaign in the community, where they distributed pamphlets and engaged with the community.
Mesuli Kama, the ANC provincial spokesperson for community safety, said: “This is not the first shooting of its kind and it is certainly not the last until the provincial government agrees to invest and address the spatial environmental issues that make it conducive for violent crimes to thrive in poor working class communities.”
City Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said the City acted in support of the police, including in Khayelitsha where the Gang and Drug Task Team and Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officers worked closely with the police’s Anti-Gang Unit and precinct policing staff.
Dyason said the City attempted as far as possible to ensure that the law enforcement agencies that report to it were visible on the ground.
“In the last two-and-a-half years, progress has been made through the introduction of Leap,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop anonymously at 08600 10111 or via the MySAPSApp.