Police Minister Bheki Cele say more than 15 police officers will be deployed to patrol at Mthwalume south of Durban. This follows the discovery of at least five women’s bodies found 2020 in a sugar plantation in the area.
On Friday, police announced that two people had been taken in for questioning regarding the murders.
Two people are taken in for questioning in connection with the murder of five women in Mthwalume:
Cele says a mobile police station was erected on Friday.
“The mobile we managed to get we brought it here. It’s at Thuthwini. It arrived yesterday and police will be stationed there 24/7; which means if you want to report, you’ll go there. But it’s not just them; we’ll also have police between 15 and 20 patrolling this area.”
Bheki Cele visits Mthwalume following the discovery of five female bodies in the area:
Earlier on Saturday, community members, mainly women dressed in black, have gathered in Mthwalume to pray for the end to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the area.
Police are investigating the possibility of a serial killer operating in the area. Cele is in the area to reinforce investigations.
On Sunday, the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) president Velenkosini Hlabisa is expected in the area to have an open-air prayer session with the locals.
Calls for men to assist police
The KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders on Saturday called on men in Mthwalume to assist police in their investigation into the killing of women in that community.
Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza appealed to community members to come forward with any information that could assist the police.
“What has taken place there is shameful and beneath righteous men. We call all righteous men in this to rise and decisively deal with this senseless killings by working closely with the police to bring the perpetrators to book. I believe that police can make headway in their investigation with the help of conscious citizens coming forward and providing them much needed details and information.”
