Pretoria - Gauteng Premier David Makhura and political parties have called for the speedy arrest of those responsible for the senseless killing of 21 people at different taverns across the country at the weekend.
At the informal settlement of Nomzamo in Orlando East, Soweto, a group of men entered a tavern and fired randomly at patrons. Of the 23 people shot, 13 were declared dead on the scene.
Another 10 were taken to a nearby hospital, where more were later declared dead.
Meanwhile, in Katlehong, four gunmen reportedly entered the Mputlane Inn tavern on Friday night and began shooting randomly at patrons. Six people were shot, two died at the scene and two were rushed to hospital.
The premier, on behalf of the Gauteng government, extended condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
“We condemn in the strongest terms possible the senseless killing of so many people. We call on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to book,” Makhura said.
The provincial government was deeply shocked, concerned, and saddened by this brutal assassination of innocent residents, he said.
“We cannot allow incidents like this where innocent people are killed. This kind of behaviour has no place in this province,” he said.
The Gauteng Legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety has urged law enforcement officials “to work around the clock and explore every lead for the speedy arrest of suspects, and that they face the full wrath of the law for the senseless and violent killings”.
The committee believes that the safety of the people of Soweto and Gauteng in general is highly compromised, while gunmen roam the streets freely.
Chairperson Alphina Ndlovana said the committee would receive reports from Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko and provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela for details on the incident at the Soweto tavern, as well as measures to prevent similar future occurrences.
“All sectors of society need to work together to prevent a confluence of criminality and violence in places where the public gather. We call on the public to come forward with any information which could assist the police to apprehend the suspects,” Ndlovana said.
Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said the series of shootings that occurred since Friday in taverns in Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg, Katlehong and Orlando in Soweto pointed to deep-rooted problems in the police service and serious shortcomings in the criminal justice system.
“The shortcomings in South Africa’s criminal justice system are underlined by the shocking fact that a criminal has about 80% chance of getting away with committing a crime,” Groenewald said.
Commenting on the tavern attacks in Gauteng, DA provincial leader Solly Msimanga said Gauteng continues to become a lawless society, and many innocent lives have been lost due to a lack of political leadership to ensure law enforcement agencies execute their mandate of preventing crime and ensuring residents’ safety.
Msimanga said the tavern shootings have created unnecessary anxiety about the ability of the SAPS to ensure business safety through visible policing, with people now being scared to visit taverns and these businesses being at risk of losing their patrons.
“Taverns, like many small businesses that operate in townships, play a crucial role in the economy and creating local employment which makes their safety even more crucial to the economic stability of these communities,” he said.
He said his party demands that Mazibuko and Mawela immediately engage with the taverns’ associations and the Gauteng Liquor Board to ascertain the root cause of these violent incidents.
“They must also implement a crime-prevention strategy to ensure the safety of taverns across the province,” Msimanga said.
Meanwhile, a Soweto woman said they were not entirely shocked when they heard gunshots after midnight on Sunday because it was a regular occurrence in the area.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Mpumi Chirwa said her brother, Daluwonga Mluma, 54, was one of the 15 patrons of the tavern in Orlando East, Soweto, who were shot and killed by unidentified suspects.
“It is not safe at all here. It is not safe at all. Even on Saturday, before this tragedy happened, we heard those guns, but it is something that we are used to, so we didn’t take it that seriously. It is something that we always hear. We didn’t know that our families were part of what was happening, that shooting,” she said.
Chirwa described Mluma as a “very loving, warm person, very hard-working”.
“He would do anything to make sure that his family was okay.”
Chirwa said the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy were yet to be briefed by police on what could have led to the incident.
“There is nothing we were told about what happened there. There is nothing,” she said.
Chirwa said the danger in their community was worsened by the lack of electricity.
“Here, there is no electricity. That is number one. My brother would go there to watch TV.
“My brother would go there to play pool. It’s not a place they would go to get some drinks, but they would de-stress there. There is no safety because there is no electricity. It’s always dark.
“You can imagine what happens at around 10pm. Even at 6pm, people are already locking themselves in because it is not safe,” she said.
Pretoria News