Cele expected to visit Alexandra township on Sunday

Police Minister Bheki Cele is expected to visit Alexandra township north of Johannesburg again on Sunday. He will be hosting a Crime Imbizo, engaging residents on their concerns about crime in the area and policing needs.

This follows the murder of six people by an armed gang in separate incidents in the township. A total of twenty suspects have now been arrested.

Residents of Alexandra say they live in fear due to the high incidence of crime in the area. The murder this week of six people, including a presenter of local radio station Alex FM, has again brought to the fore the high rate of crime in this township.

Residents who spoke to Sabc News say they live in constant fear with gunshots ringing out every night.

One community member said, “There are guns firing every night non-stop whilst we sleep. I don’t feel safe. I am even thinking of leaving this place. “

Gauteng police commissioner Elias Mawela says they made inroads following the arrest of seven suspects on Thursday night.

“We have managed to recover an additional three firearms and we have also arrested an additional 13 people. We have also arrested some of the people who were found in possession of drugs, some in possession of dangerous weapons. “We found 39 stolen cellphones in these boys whom we have arrested, and the good news is that some of the victims of those shootings have already come forward to identify some of the cellphones—this is my cellphone—this is my cellphone—it means those we arrested have concrete cases against them,” Mawela said.

Gauteng premier David Makhura says more needs to be done to deal with the proliferation of illegal firearms in the country.

Speaking to Sabc News at a crime prevention operation in the township last Saturday night, Makhura conceded that not much is being done to deal with the proliferation of illegal firearms.

“We are not doing enough as a country. Right now, the teams that are leading operations in the West Rand are saying illegal firearms are the biggest problem. Some of them are used by illegal miners. They fight as they conduct their operations in illegal mining and they get back into the community there. They use those firearms to fight among themselves but also shoot members of the community. So we are not doing enough,” said Makhura.

Sixteen people were killed at a tavern in Orlando in Soweto. And two others were murdered at a shebeen in Katlehong on the Eastrand.

Video| Operation O Kae Molao underway in Alexandra