Community organisation Khayelitsha Development Forum in Cape Town says the latest mass killing of people in the area might be gang-related.
Western Cape police have confirmed that six people were shot and killed in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats during the weekend.
This is the third mass killing in the area since March this year. Five people were shot dead in New Monwabisi Park, Endlovini in March.
The Forum’s chairperson, Ndithini Tyhido, says community members are afraid of speaking out because they suspect that the gangs are working with the police.
“Really, they have all the hallmarks of the ongoing extortion rings fighting, the inter-gangs fighting over the loot they make on the extortion. Somebody knows something about someone who is doing these things, but the problem is that the community members are scared to come out and speak because they’re starting to believe that some amongst the police are collaborating with these thugs.”
Police have launched a manhunt for the gunmen. Police spokesperson, Novela Potelwa, says they were called to the scene in Site C where they found the bodies.
She says they are currently investigating the circumstances that lead to the incident.
“ Organised crime detectives have opened murder dockets for investigation following an incident where six individuals estimated to be in their 30s were shot and killed in Site C in Khayelitsha on Sunday evening. Five died on the scene while a sixth victim died on arrival in hospital. No arrests have been made yet and the detectives are probing.”
