Category: General

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has called on the police to hunt down the suspects linked to the murder of three women in Inanda on Saturday.

According to reports, the women met their untimely death during an African National Congress (ANC) activity, in preparation for the upcoming elections.

It is believed that while the three women were standing in a queue, an unknown gun assailant fired shots randomly and killed them, while others managed to escape the gun fire.

“We are deeply shocked, concerned and saddened by this brutal assassination of innocent citizens. We believe this is the work of thuggish elements that kill with impunity. We must not allow them to find a place to hide in this province,” Zikalala said.

The Premier said the killings bear the hallmarks of a desperate effort to use intimidation and violence “as a way of frustrating the will of the people and subvert democracy.”

He called on the police to hunt down the criminals who thrive on such violence.

“There is no election or vote that is worth the blood of our innocent citizens. We call upon the community to unite and work with the police to expose those who seem to believe that winning an election or becoming a candidate must happen at all costs, even if it means jumping over the corpses of innocent people,” Zikalala.

Zikalala extended his heartfelt condolences to the affected families and the community.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has issued a strong warning to all implementing agents and contractors who perform poorly and do not deliver on housing projects.

“We can no longer allow, under such a constrained fiscal environment, project developers and contractors to waste public resources on poorly implemented or incomplete projects,” Kubayi said.

The warning follows the Minister’s inspection of human settlements projects, where some have been running for years without completion and others abandoned, leaving poor and indigent potential beneficiaries without shelter.

Kubayi warned that from now on, the department is going to tighten contract management such that consequence management is integral in every contract.

“Any contractor who, without a reasonable explanation, is found to have violated contractual obligations will be dealt with accordingly,” she said.

The Minister also implored provinces to pay contractors who are delivering within 30 days in order to accelerate housing delivery.

“We are at the coalface of service delivery and people expect nothing but the best from us. We should strive to ensure that the Department of Human Settlements is an employer of choice because it gives people hope and restores their dignity.”

Kubayi concluded a two-day visit to Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape on Friday, where she assessed housing delivery in the province.

She also visited a number of human settlements projects in the province, including the Duncan Village Revitalisation Initiative, Komga 570, Potsdam Village 500, and three destitute families in Amathole and Buffalo City Municipalities.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Tshwane District police nabbed over 600 suspects following various operations in the Capital City. The district led by Brigadier Mbangwa Nkhwashu painted the streets of Tshwane in blue and tirelessly effected these arrests.

About 188 arrests were made during the Okae Molao/High Density Operation on Friday in the Soshanguve and Rietgat’s precincts respectively. Amongst the arrested 46 were nabbed for gender based violence while six foreigners were charged for contravening the Immigration Act and the rest were for commission of various crimes. The operation also closed several liquor outlets which operated without valid licences.

In a different incident across the city, a suspect was also arrested for possession of stolen liquor to the value of R600 000-00 in the Akasia policing area.

The district further nabbed suspects for the commission of other crimes during the weekend which included, theft out of motor vehicle, housebreaking, shoplifting and theft, attempted murder, use of motor vehicle without consent, rape, malicious damage to property, business robbery, contravention of the road traffic Act, theft, armed robbery, possession of stolen motor vehicle, public drinking, house robbery, driving under the influence of liquor, dealing in liquor without a licence, dealing in drugs, possession of drugs, drug dealing, possession of unlicensed firearm, assault common, possession of stolen property, contravention of protection order, assault GBH, theft of motor vehicle, possession of unlicensed firearm, trespassing, traffic offenses and business breaking.

All the arrested suspects will appear in various Magistrate Courts within the Tshwane District.

Source: South African Police Service

Firearm related crime and the illegal possession of firearms are high on the priority list of the Western Cape and our operations are directed to bring offenders to book and to remove these weapons from the streets.

Yesterday afternoon members of the Maitland Flying Squad conducted a stop and search operation in Mfuleni when they came across an armed individual. The 33-year-old man could not produce a licence to possess the 9mm pistol in his possession and he was arrested.

In Manenberg a 25-year-old man was arrested yesterday after members responded to a shooting incident in 15th Avenue and caught the suspect armed with a 357 Magnum revolver.

The two suspects are expected to make their court appearances in Athlone and Blue Downs tomorrow.

In an unrelated matter, members of the Public Order Policing Unit in Paarl were busy with patrols in Paarl East when they spotted two suspects who drew their attention. Upon approaching the suspects, they dropped their weapons and fled. Two 9mm pistols and ammunition were confiscated and the suspects are now being sought.

Meanwhile the discovery of a large quantity of ammunition which was abandoned in a basement of an office block in Cape Town CBD is under police investigation. Members of the Maitland Flying Squad reacted on a compliant yesterday and found the ammunition in an unused basement. 805 rounds of various calibres and an ammunition loader were seized. No arrests have been made.

Source: South African Police Service

Yesterday morning, an intelligence operation was conducted at Stork Place in Bayview where police conducted a search on a premises.

Upon searching the premises, police found 26 bags of pure cocaine powder, 56 mandrax tablets and 2800 pieces of crack cocaine. The estimated street value of the recovered drugs is R310 790-00. Police seized R17590-00 in cash, suspected to be the proceeds of drugs. A 20-year-old suspect was placed under arrest for possession and dealing in drugs. The suspect will appear before the Chatsworth Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Source: South African Police Service

On Saturday 11 September 2021, an off duty member from Cradock K9-dog unit received information about a white Mercedes Benz motor vehicle which was allegedly offloading dagga in Dongwe Street, in the Lingelihle locality of Cradock.

Assisted by Cradock Crime Prevention Unit, the premises was visited and searched and two females were arrested when found in possession of 8 kilograms of dagga.

The two females aged 34 and 53-years-old will appear before the Cradock Magistrates Court on Monday the 13 September 2021 on charges relating to dealing in dagga.

The Acting Chris Hani District Commissioner, Brigadier Magqashela appreciated the efforts made by the members that led to the arrests and applauded the team work.

Source: South African Police Service