• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home South Africa

Police task team to monitor gang terrorising Mamelodi residents

20 February 2021, 8:41 PM  |
Phanuel Shuma Phanuel Shuma |  @SABCNews
Spaza shop owners say their businesses have been taken over by the gang known as 'Boko Haram'

Spaza shop owners say their businesses have been taken over by the gang known as 'Boko Haram'

Image: SA Government Flickr

Spaza shop owners say their businesses have been taken over by the gang known as 'Boko Haram'

Police Minister Bheki Cele says police are paying special attention to the situation in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria. A task team has been established to monitor and investigate the activities of a gang that’s been terrorizing local businesses and the community.  

The gang dubbed ‘Boko Haram’ is allegedly involved in the hijacking of community project contracts as well as extorting money from local businesses.  

Police to probe reports of terror gang in Mamelodi:

Two of the gang members have been arrested. They include one of the kingpins Vusi “Khekhe‘ Mathibela who is on trial for his involvement in the 2015 brutal murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwane.  

Cele says the group has no place to hide.

“Mamelodi, we went there, commissioner and I some time ago and we created a team, some people were picked up there. They’re in for a long time, they haven’t got bail. Cases are continuing. It’s true that the matter and the concern has been raised again. It looks like there are some new people who have sprung up in the place of their king and before that, I know for sure that the Gauteng management under the capable leadership of General Mawela is working on that. Maybe again, commissioner, as we had a very close look at the first batch of the people, we have to look at how successful are the police on this one because it keeps coming. There is a new batch of people there that are causing those similar problems.” 

The DA in Gauteng has called on Cele to speed up the arrest of the group. 

Gauteng’s DA Member of Legislature and Shadow MEC for Community, Safety Michael Shackleton says five cases of business robbery that were linked to the gang known as Boko Haram, have been reported to the police.

“But as the DA, I am working to keep the people of Mamelodi safe. About the contractor, hostels being taken over, I have been approached by many informants who have knowledge (of) who leads Boko Haram or used to be in the group themselves, and even residents from all walks of life and shopkeepers have told me how their spaza shops have been taken over by Boko Haram and how they’re forced to pay money to keep their shops alive,“ says Shackleton.

Concerned residents say they leave in fear and they want police to speedily arrest the gang.

“This Boko Haram is a problem. They must arrest them. They break into people’s houses, they kill and do all sort of things,“ says one resident.  

“They must arrest them. We are suffering because of this gang,“ says another resident.

The party has therefore called for urgent measures to curb the violence and criminality of the gang. 

Crime Stats Q3 2020/2021:

Murder saw an increase of 6.6%, see Infographic below for more:

 

Rape incidents are also on the increase, with Inanda and UMlazi in KwaZulu-Natal reporting the most cases:

 

House robberies and CIT heists on the rise, whilst business-related robberies saw a decline:

Cele says they need to re-visit their approach at fighting Cash-In-Transit heists “If we are to win against these thugs, SAPS must go back to the drawing board and work with speed.”

He promises that they will be engaging stakeholders in the cash-in-transit industry in the following week.

Dr Johan Burger is a Senior Researcher: Governance, Crime and Justice Division at the Institute of Security Studies:

Share article
Tags: Vusi u201cKhekheu201d MathibelaWandileu00a0BozwanePretoriaNorth WestMamelodiBheki CeleBoko Haram
Previous Post

La Liga leaders Atletico slump to shock defeat at home to Levante

Next Post

Chiefs move up to 8th on premiership log after draw with SuperSport

Related Posts

Minibus-taxi on a route

Several roads to be closed in Cape Town due to EFF march on Monday

1 October 2023, 7:40 PM
Tables and chairs inside a classroom.

BELA Bill will address issues such as admissions to schools: Motshekga

1 October 2023, 6:46 PM
Veld fires in Southern Free State the largest in the history of the province.

Three active fires still burning in Free State

1 October 2023, 5:24 PM
File Photo: People protest against gang violence

Several schools in Gqeberha riddled with gang-related violence

1 October 2023, 4:35 PM
Bullet cases and a crime scene tape

Shooting incident claims five lives in Gugulethu

1 October 2023, 4:30 PM
Pic depicting a drowning for illustrative purposes

Two children drown while kayaking in Plettenberg Bay

1 October 2023, 4:10 PM
Next Post
Amakhosi launched an attack early in the match with United's defence dealing with the danger.

Chiefs move up to 8th on premiership log after draw with SuperSport

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Mandla Mandela urges respect for Zoleka’s peaceful rest
  • Six beaches in Durban flagged with high levels of E.coli
  • Visitors planning to visit the Overberg region urged to postpone their trips
  • ‘Medupi power station has turned the corner’
  • Golden Arrow bus overturns as heavy rains continue in Cape Town
  • High waves and rough water conditions force beach closures in the Western Cape
  • Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi to rest in the town he built and nurtured
  • NSPCA files criminal case against Julius Malema for alleged animal cruelty
  • Snow, heavy rainfall expected in parts of KZN: SAWS
  • Cold-front sweeps across SA bringing snow and chilly temperatures
  • Msukalikwa Local Municipality to face criminal charges
  • Springboks will this evening fight to remain in the World Cup
  • SA has the seventh highest level of organised crime in the world
  • Five killed in Kagiso vehicle crash
  • Malema describes eSwatini elections as a mockery of democracy

LATEST

A player has a soccer ball under his boots during a match.
  • Sport

Galaxy draw with Richards Bay


Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Africa

Congo ruling coalition backs Tshisekedi for December vote


Minibus-taxi on a route
  • South Africa

Several roads to be closed in Cape Town due to EFF march on Monday


Tables and chairs inside a classroom.
  • South Africa

BELA Bill will address issues such as admissions to schools: Motshekga


General Secretary of the SACP Solly Mapaila addressing attendees of the Red October campaign launch
  • Politics

SACP’s Red October campaign to focus on cost of living


SMER-SSD party leader Robert Fico speaks during a press conference after the country's early parliamentary elections, in Bratislava, Slovakia, October 1, 2023.
  • World

Slovakia’s poll winner defies European consensus on Ukraine


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous La Liga leaders Atletico slump to shock defeat at home to Levante
Next Chiefs move up to 8th on premiership log after draw with SuperSport