'We should not be having hostels': Saulsville massacre renews alarm over illegal liquor outlets and hostel violence
Police have launched a manhunt for perpetrators after the mass shooting at an illegal tavern in Saulsville hostel, west of Pretoria on Saturday.
Image: Oupa Mokoena/ Independent Newspapers
Police must intensify efforts to curb the mushrooming of illegal liquor outlets, which have frequently become scenes of mass shootings and violent crime across South Africa.
This was said by the executive chairperson of the Gauteng Community Police Board, TJ Masilela, following the recent shooting in Tshwane, where at least 12 people lost their lives.
IOL reported on Saturday that the number of people killed in the shooting at Saulsville Hostel in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, had risen to 12, after another person died in hospital. Police previously confirmed that the shooting occurred at an illegal tavern in the area. Earlier, police had reported that 10 people had died and more than ten were injured and taken to the hospital.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Masilela said South Africa should not still have hostels in this era.
“We pay condolences to those who have lost their lives. It is a problem of these guns that are so easily obtainable, but we also have a problem of the structural design. We should not be having hostels at this time and age.
“At some point, these hostels were to be converted to family units and so forth. In some hostels, even the police cannot go through because there is the fear of the unknown,” Masilela told the news channel.
He said communities around Atteridgeville and Saulsville in Tshwane have been complaining about murder incidents linked to the hostels in their area.
“Maybe we need a different approach. Get police officers not from the same area. I am just staying away from task teams or task force but something similar, so that you attend to this. Local policing might also be the problem.”
Masilela added that he hopes the perpetrators “with barbaric and satanic thinking” will be arrested and brought to book.
Meanwhile, the South African Union Council of Independent Churches (SAUCIC) said it is horrified by the massacre, describing it as a senseless and brutal act of terror.
“The Union Council of affiliated Federations of Charismatic, Evangelical Outreach Mission Ministries and Pentecostal Churches calls on the police not to leave any stone unturned until those responsible for the indiscriminate shooting of hostel dwellers that included a three-year-old child, 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl are unmasked and behind bars,” said SAUCIC spokesperson, Pastor Lesiba Kgwele.
SAUCIC president Cardinal Arch Bishop Patrick Modiri Shole said the massacre had sent shockwaves across communities.
“We wish to condemn in the strongest terms possible the horrendous and ghastly act that has sent a shockwave across all of our communities and convey our deepest condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones in such a heartrending manner,” he said.
Shole also wished the 13 hospitalised victims who survived the massacre a speedy recovery, and urged communities to assist police in ensuring that the “heartless murderers” are speedily removed from society.
“While appealing for calm, fervent prayers and united action, we also call for intensified effort to rid our communities of proliferation of guns and senseless violence claiming innocent lives,” he stressed.
He said violent crime cannot continue to cause havoc while terrorised communities watch helplessly, and emphasised that the speedy arrest of those responsible for the killings will restore confidence in the police and the criminal justice system.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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