The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has condemned the barbaric mass shooting that took place in Gugulethu, Cape Town.
The death toll has since risen from seven to eight after one of two survivors died in hospital.
Joemat-Pettersson has since called for the South African Police Service (SAPS) to leave no stone unturned in investigating the heinous crimes that took place on Monday.
The deceased, aged between 30 and 40 years, were shot and killed by unknown gunmen at a house in NY 78 in Gugulethu.
“The killings are concerning in the context of the worrying upward trend in murders in general in the country. Also, the shooting follows similar killings of six people in Khayelitsha in September, five people in Joe Slovo in October and the killing of seven people in Phillipi in July,” she added.
The Chairperson has emphasised the importance of collaboration between the police and the community to fight the scourge of crime in communities.
She said the situation in the Cape Flats also requires all stakeholders to rally together and fight these crimes head-on.
Joemat-Pettersson has called on the SAPS and the Anti-Gang Unit to come up with strategies to prevent such attacks from happening, especially as the festive season draws near.
“The proliferation of illegal firearms in our streets is also an issue of concern and the SAPS must come up with concrete strategies in completely dealing with this matter,” the committee said, adding that an intelligence-led investigation is necessary.
The committee said it would engage senior management of SAPS at provincial and national levels to get a briefing on how they envisage fighting this scourge.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has called for speedy action from the SAPS.
“I share our people’s anger at the horrific massacre that took place in Gugulethu last night [Monday], where eight people have been murdered.”
Winde has extended his deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have been killed.
“There must now be swift action from the SAPS to ensure the arrest and prosecution of all those involved. No stone must be left unturned,” he added.
The Western Cape Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, also called for the transversal steering committee on organised crime to urgently convene and address this latest incident.
The committee was to be established following an engagement with the Minister of Police Bheki Cele on 16 September 2020.
Winde said the province would continue to do whatever they can to play their part in building a safer Western Cape.
“That is why during my special address to the legislature last month I said that we will continue with our boots-on-the-ground commitments, including the deployment of an additional 500 officers to those 500 already deployed.”
The province has called on anyone with information on this matter to immediately come forward and report such to their local SAPS station, call Crime Stop on 08600 1011 or use the tip-off function on the MySAPS cellphone application.