Six dead in latest mass shooting in Cape Town as police make arrest for previous killings

Western Cape police say organised crime detectives are “hard at work” investigating the killing of six men in Khayelitsha, Cape Town just after 8pm on Sunday.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) said they were called to the corner of Maphongwana and Idada streets in Site C where they found the bodies of five men who had been shot. A sixth person had been declared dead on arrival at hospital. 

Family members wash away blood at the scene of a shooting in Site C in Khayelitsha where six people were killed on  May 09, 2022 in Cape Town,  (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)

Police have not named the deceased men yet and no arrests have been made. 

On Monday, families were at the scene, hosing down the area as people watched. 

The shooting is the latest extremely violent incident in the area: 

• On 20 March, three gunmen fired at people in the Enkanini informal settlement. Police found the bodies of five people, while a sixth died on arrival at a medical facility. One person has been arrested;


• In a statement on Monday, 9 May, Western Cape police confirmed a person had been arrested in connection with the murder of five people in New Monwabisi, Harare on 13 March. The suspect would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Provincial organised crime investigators are searching for another suspect.

The Social Justice Coalition, which has been working on getting equitable access to police resources for communities like Khayelitsha, told Daily Maverick that Sunday night’s shooting and the previous ones are similar.  

Read in Daily Maverick about SJC’s position on the previous shootings: “Violence-ridden communities in SA ‘drowning in drugs’, desperately need more police on the streets”

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-05-09-zweli-mkhizes-race-against-time-and-the-special-investigating-unit/

The organisation has called for: 

• The national police minister and commissioner to commit to the development of visible policing guidelines for informal settlements;


• The Western Cape commissioner to commit to implementing Section 12(3) of the SAPS Act and reallocating police in the province to where they are urgently needed;


• The national crime intelligence head to commit resources and develop an urgent strategy for intelligence-led policing in the province;


• The Western Cape premier and community safety MEC to exercise their power of oversight over both the SAPS and the City of Cape Town and commit to providing the necessary resources;


• The Cape Town mayor and mayoral committee member for safety and security to commit to reallocating law enforcement resources to where they are needed, and that this becomes permanent; and


• The mayor and mayoral committee member for safety and security to commit to developing a plan and strategy for adequate public lighting and CCTV cameras in poor communities, and allocate the required funds.

Western Cape premier Alan Winde said in a statement on Twitter that it was “unacceptable” that mass shootings continue and called on the police to ensure that arrests were made so convictions can follow. 

Family members wash away blood at the scene in Site C, Khayelitsha where five people were shot dead on Sunday, 8 May 2022. A sixth person died later. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Police are also searching for Sivuyile Tshabile to help in the investigation of the stabbing of his girlfriend, Nosiviwe James, just before the mass shooting. 

She had been found lying on the street and was declared dead by paramedics. Police reportedly told Newzroom Afrika that her family had to “drop her body on the street” as the shooting started. DM

 

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