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Cape Town – Police should redouble their efforts to find and punish those responsible for the deaths of two security guards in Hammanskraal, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said on Thursday.
Briefing media on the outcomes of the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Radebe said they were unrelenting in the view that law enforcement should take its course.
Violence broke out in the township on Monday when contracted security companies, Saps and Tshwane Metro Police arrived to demolish their shacks and evict them.
Two men employed by a security company were killed during the altercation.
Radebe said no matter how deep-seated a problem was in a community, no grievance should result in a loss of life.
"Those who killed those contractors must be brought to book. Members of communities should not be party to the breaking of the law," he said.
He said the department of Human Settlements was leading an intervention in the area.
On Wednesday, Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Paul Mashatile said evictions in Hammanskraal had been suspended and those affected would get their building material back.
Vuwani protests
Regarding protests in Vuwani, Limpopo, Radebe called on communities to have the courage to rise up against the "unbecoming culture" of torching schools.
"This unprecedented action of holding the education of our children hostage is unacceptable," he said.
He called on communities to take charge, as some matters could not be resolved by law enforcement only.
Radebe said government had worked tirelessly to engage communities in the area in order to resolve issues and deliver services, including education.
A number of schools were recently burnt and vandalised in Vuwani as residents protested the demarcation process in the area.
