Gauteng police Commissioner Elias Mawela is adamant that police have not lost the fight against crime.
This follows yet another incident in which four people were shot and killed at the Thembelihle informal settlement near Lenasia, south of Johannesburg.
The motive for the shooting is yet to be confirmed. The incident comes in the wake of the murder of six people in Alexandra this week.
Gauteng Police Commissioner, Elias Mawela says police are not losing the battle against crime
Sixteen people were also murdered when gun men opened fire at a tavern in Orlando in Soweto last week.
people were also fatally shot at a shebeen in Katlehong. Mawela says police are doing their best.
“Losing no, it’s a strong word. We are not losing it, we are fighting back. And you can see with what we are achieving. That is why we have this undying spirit. You see us week in week out we are on the street fighting back against this battle against crime.
The people who are committing crime surely are very few and working with our communities we can defeat them. We call upon the communities that instead of directing criticism to the police they must direct to the criminals, the people who are perpetrating this crime.”
Minister Bheki Cele visits Soweto following the mass shooting:
On Wednesday Dr Anthony Turton a military intelligence analyst and member of the former South African Secret Service said South Africa’s crime intelligence is in crisis.
His statement follows the gunning down of 16 people in Soweto and four others in Pietermaritzburg at the weekend. Both incidents happened at taverns.
Dr Turton said complex issues such as the movement of illegal weapons, police instability, and political infighting are contributing to a breakdown in law and order in the country.
“The general breakdown of law and order and the fact that the rule of law seems to no longer apply here in SA is something that came to the fore here in KZN a year back when we had the insurrection that took place, the massive looting. Now, what was important in that event was that there were certain parts that were pre-planned but the other important thing that happened a year ago is that it became clear that the state is no longer in charge. The government is no longer in charge and that has a lot of national security ramifications.”
CSVR says SA should be alarmed by the recent spate of gun violence in a democratic country
Executive Director at CSVR, Annah Moyo-Kupeta, says violence in all forms has been normalised in South Africa.
“We must understand our psyche as a nation, why violence becomes a response used to address a number of issues. We really need to get to the root cause of violence, we are seeing an escalation of violence in a society, particularly in a democratic society that is not at war.
What has happened over the past week is really concerning for a country that is not at war. We’re seeing some of these issues in countries where there is insurgency, where there is war, so, we should really be alarmed.”
