Four men were shot and killed in Site B, Khayelitsha on Tuesday, 7 June 2022. Photo: Pixabay
Western Cape government calls for Cele’s head after latest Khayelitsha mass shooting
Four men were murdered in Khayelitsha on Tuesday evening taking the mass shooting death toll in the area to 26 since March 2022.
Four men were shot and killed in Site B, Khayelitsha on Tuesday, 7 June 2022. Photo: Pixabay
Twenty-six people have been killed in mass shootings in Khayelitsha, Cape Town since March 2022. The latest mass murder saw four men killed in Site B after unknown gunmen opened fire inside a supermarket on Tuesday evening, 7 May.
WESTERN CAPE GOVERNMENT REACTS TO KHAYELITSHA SHOOTING
As previously reported, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said the assailants entered Madiba Supermarket in R588 Sulani Drive and let off several gunshots at approximately 19:00.
Three men died inside the supermarket. The fourth was transported to a hospital for treatment where he later succumbed to his gunshot wounds.
The motive for the shooting incident is yet to be determined and no arrests have been made thus far.
Western Cape Community Safety MEC, Reagen Allen, said the latest Khayelitsha shooting is a clear failure of crime intelligence and committed to engaging with the provincial SAPS commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile on the matter.
“Although we’ve seen arrests in some of the other shootings in Khayelitsha, it seems as if criminals think the area is a free-for-all and they can do as they please.
“This incident also further confirms why the current National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele is not fit for office and why a head that does not play politics with crime is required,” said Allen.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde called for the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to be fired and accused him of a lack of commitment and urgency, while responding to questions from opposition parties in the provincial legislature last Thursday.
The provincial safety MEC said the shooting highlighted the need for the national police service to be devolved to provinces. The Western Cape is pushing to take full control of managing policing, while the City of Cape Town has similar plans for the public railway system.
“Khayelitsha’s police to resident’s ratio is unacceptable, sitting at 1 officer for every 628 residents. In Harare it 1:879 and Lingelethu West, 1:664. The provincial average is 1:520.
“Both the National Minister and his deputy, keeps harping on that we’re the most resourced and that a report to this effect will be provided. This report has still not arrived, and the statement alone contradicts the 10% SAPS vacancy rate that we currently have in the Western Cape,” said Allen.
