With just a week in office, Western Cape Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Thembisile Patekile in his assessment of crime patterns within the Province has observed with concern the alarmingly high levels of serious violent crimes that are driven by the proliferation of illegal firearms.
The Western Cape, particularly the Cape Town metropole, has just emerged from a week that saw multiple murders recorded in the following areas:
* On Thursday, two teenagers were killed in Beacon Valley, three others sustained serious injury
* In Maureen Street, also in Mitchells Plain, four men between the ages of 30 and 64 were shot dead on Saturday, while a fifth victim escaped with a gunshot wound.
* Police officials were also not spared from these attacks as 45-year-old Sergeant Welcome Mdoko and 28 year old Constable Mninawa Breakfast were ambushed in Bloekombos, Kraaifontein in the early hours of Sunday morning. They both died on the scene.
* Four men in their thirties came under attack from two assailants in Thubelitsha, Delft after 2:00 on Sunday morning. Two died in the scene while two others sustained serious injuries.
* Beaufort West detectives are probing a murder and an inquest after the discovery of the bodies of a couple in Hospital Heights on Saturday. A revolver with ammunition was found next to the bodies of the 61-year-old man and his wife who was 60 years of age.
* Two brothers aged 17 and 19 were shot dead in Site B, Khayelitsha on Sunday afternoon.
In all these crime incidents and other murders recorded earlier in the week, firearms were utilised.
This reaffirms Major General Patekile’s resolve of ridding certain identified communities of the Western Cape of illegal firearms that contribute to violent crimes.
“With illegal firearms off the streets, the Province’s communities will be safer”, says Major General Patekile.
Major General Patekile is adamant intensified policing initiatives with community involvement will go a long way towards ensuring all communities are and feel safe. In the past week 30 illegal firearms and rounds of ammunition were seized with several arrests affected in various operations undertaken throughout the Western Cape.
In an unrelated matter, thirteen men between the ages of 22 and 47 are expected to appear at the Cape Town Magistrates court on Monday 1 March 2021, in connection with an incident that occurred at a luxury car dealership in Cape Town a week ago. The suspects were arrested in tracing operations executed over the weekend.
They are facing business robbery, malicious damage to property and extortion charges.
