Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has urged police leadership to abandon routine strategies and deploy all available resources in response to the latest wave of mass killings in the Western Cape. This follows the deaths of 13 people in separate incidents over the past week.
Mass killings sparks alarm
On Saturday, seven men were fatally shot in an ambush at a residence in Kanana, Gugulethu. Just days later, police discovered three more bodies at different locations in nearby Samora Machel. Earlier in the same week, three suspected hijackers were killed in a shootout in Nyanga during a foiled hijacking attempt.
Mchunu described the situation in the Cape Flats as dire, warning, “It is as if we have to choose between the people and the murderers; we actually do not have a choice.”
Operation Shanela 2 Mobilised
In response, Mchunu confirmed that the Western Cape police have launched a chase for the Gugulethu shooting suspects. He said the unknown perpetrators must be tracked down as part of Operation Shanela 2, an intensified strategy rolled out last Friday.
The operation focuses on murder, illegal firearms, drug trafficking, and gender-based violence. It draws on coordinated efforts between SAPS task teams, intelligence units, and various levels of government.
“The situation requires full implementation of what the ministry and management have discussed and concluded over a considerable period of time now,” said Mchunu.
‘Killing Fields’ of the Western Cape
The minister did not mince words, calling parts of the Cape Flats “the killing fields” of the province. He warned against normalising the violence: “What the police ministry and police top management must refuse to do is to treat this as a normal trend and keep the normal methods of policing in place.”
He called on the national police commissioner to mobilise every available resource: “We urge the national commissioner and his team to activate and unleash all police resources to confront criminality and criminals.”
Do you believe the police response will be enough to restore safety in the Western Cape’s most violent communities?
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