Cape Town - As crime rampages on in the province, Police Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that 83 people were killed in a period of just seven days this month.
Cele – who called a media briefing on Thursday providing progress of investigations into kidnapping, extortion and transport-related cases in the province as investigated by the police – said the majority of the murders took place in and around the metro and Cape Flats.
Arguments, robberies and gang violence, he said, were the leading causes of these deaths.
This as the Hanover Park area grapples with gang-related killings. In the past week, four murders in six days were recorded there, including that of 17-year-old Jehaan Petersen, whose body was found in a field close to Crystal High School on Sunday.
Of the 118 people that were put behind bars for serious crimes, only 27 were convicted of murder for the period between April and Sunday. A total of 32 cases of kidnapping from March to September were investigated, with 15 kidnapping suspects arrested.
Regarding the transport sector, Cele said 38 cases were registered on attacks on Intercape, Golden Arrows, Mavumisa buses and taxis respectively from August 1 to the end of last month, with 16 people having been arrested and charged with public violence and malicious damage to property.
While Cele remained tight-lipped on the preliminary investigations regarding the murder of Magistrate Romay van Rooyen, he said the police ministry and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development remained concerned about the safety of members of the country’s judiciary.
Cele said there had been an increased threat assessment conducted on magistrates, prosecutors and judges working in the province’s courts. He said this resulted in their protection.
Cele said the cumulative deployment of police supported by other forces from the city, metro and province each week conduct crime combating and prevention operations.
He said the police Operation Restore – which consists of integrated operations to the Top 10 police stations – also continued to obstruct extortion rackets and related crimes.
Philippi CPF deputy secretary Yaseen Johaar said the murder statistics reflected the government’s lack of political will in fighting crime in disadvantaged areas.
“We cannot expect the police and law enforcement and metro police to effectively work hand-in-hand when top leadership are constantly at each other’s throats.
“That is where our problem lies and it’s time that they take responsibility,” he said.
Johaar said extra policing cannot solve the crime problem, especially in gang-infested areas, until the investment was made to root out its causes.
Community Safety and Police Oversight MEC Reagen Allen said the low conviction rate was concerning and was a clear failure on the part of investigations and what was being presented before the courts.
Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell said meaningful interventions to address the worrying increase in criminal acts of extortion, racketeering, and murder targeting public transport operators in the provinces.
Mitchell expressed disappointment in what he said was Cele’s reporting on registered statistics on public transport attacks and arrests while he was missing in action when the department needed his intervention.
“I do not share the Ministry of Police’s sense of comfort over the measures currently in place. We need meaningful crime intelligence and co-ordinated interventions across South Africa,” he said.