Hundreds of hostel dwellers have gathered in KwaMashu, Durban as part of efforts to end the violence at these dwellings.
Traditional leaders and police are also present.
Last month, a group of men shot and killed 4 people at the KwaMashu men’s hostel.
There are concerns that factional fighting is among the reasons for the violence.
End senseless killings
Chief Thiwayinkosi Biyela of the Obuka clan in Empangeni is appealing for an end to what he terms senseless killings at the hostels.
“We are here as amakhosi to preach peace amongst our people that they should stop killing each other. We understand that people who are hostel dwellers originally are coming from our areas, others might have misunderstanding that started back home. However they might decide to settle it here, others decide to become hit men while back at home their relatives believe they are working. We are very concerned as traditional leaders about these killings.”
Biyela has also urged communities to work with police to ensure their own safety.
“We are appealing to our people that if there are problems please report to the police or sit down and talk about those problems, guns are not a solution but leaves behind orphans, police alone will not combat crime, we need to cooperate with police, police are there to protect us and ensure we are safe.” says Biyela.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi also met with the hostel dwellers on Sunday afternoon. He says the province has too few officers to effectively fight crime. Mkhwanazi adds that the province is facing a serious challenge in accessing policing resources.
“With regards to the resources it’s always a question that is on everybody’s mind that how many resources we are supposed to have, I always ask that question. We have 11.6 million people in this province and we only police that with about 18 000 police officers. It is always a difficult question to answer that why we need to put everyone together so that we are able to assist each other. The number of police officers we have in this police station they are not sufficient but adequate to be able to deal with the job at hand.”
