Share

43 killed in another bloody weekend in Cape Town

Another bloody weekend in Cape Town saw 43 people being murdered, Premier Alan Winde confirmed on Monday.

Provincial forensics services recorded these numbers between Friday night and Monday morning.

"[The] SAPS started running a national joint operational and intelligence structure operation on Thursday night in the areas of Philippi, Steenberg and Delft," Winde said in a statement.

"We welcome the fact that 143 arrests were made, and guns and drugs confiscated, but despite this heavier police presence, and [Police] Minister Bheki Cele himself going out on patrol, 43 people were still murdered - some of them in the very areas where the operation was held."

The highest number of murders were recorded in Mfuleni, where six people were killed.

Delft and Samora Machel each recorded four murders, followed by Mitchells Plain with three.

Winde said of the 43 people murdered, 25 were shot and 12 stabbed.

'Mission-ready training'

In his budget speech on Thursday, Cele announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had given the go-ahead for the SANDF to offer support to the police and enter 10 identified areas on the Cape Flats - Bishop Lavis, Mitchells Plain, Delft, Elsies River, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Philippi, Kraaifontein and Manenberg.

Troops began arriving in Cape Town on Friday.

Their deployment was delayed as the correct authorisations and paperwork still needed to be completed.

READ: Troops will be deployed 'in about two days' - Cele to Philippi East residents

The soldiers underwent "mission-ready training" after their arrival. This included a briefing on the areas in which they will be active, the objectives of the mission, expectations of troop conduct and preparations for the engagement with the public.

On Sunday, Cele addressed a crime summit at the Paarl police academy, where the adoption of the declaration outlining commitments made by all stakeholders in the fight against crime took place.

"During the weekend's crime summit, I committed myself to working with [the] SAPS to ensure that policing in this province is a top priority for all concerned. However, Minister Cele has taken this to mean that we have withdrawn our intergovernmental dispute. The dispute is still in place," Winde said.

Commitments

"We agreed to work together and remain committed that our government will partner, in any way possible, to make this province safer. We will discuss the intergovernmental dispute and various other commitments made during the crime summit at our [provincial] cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"We will also be meeting with the national police commissioner, General [Khehla] Sithole, later this week. We will only withdraw the dispute if we can see a working partnership, with agreements in place that will make this province safer."

Winde said the weekend murder rate was proof that there was no time to waste in deploying the army, calling on Cele and Ramaphosa "to get the paperwork out of the way as quickly as possible so that no more lives are wasted".

GET THE NEWS at your fingertips and download the News24 app for Android or iPhone.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

- FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 511 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 722 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.36
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE