WeeklySA_AdminTERROR: Besieged families blame police for ‘ignoring their pleas for help’ …
By WSAM Reporter
Outraged community members of Mqhekezweni village near Umtata , who are still reeling from the horror killings of two elderly women, including the Traditional Leader and the rape of five matric learners, have appealed for the immediate regular presence of police to fight the scourge of violence that has rocked their area.
The impassioned plea by elderly residents, followed the tragic incident that happened in separate incidents this week. In one of the attacks, a senior Traditional Leader, Nogcinile Mtirara (74) was shot and killed by two balaclava-clad teenagers who burst into her house looking for her son on Tuesday night. Another victim, 80-year-old retired nurse, Nonceba Timakhwe, was also found murdered a few metres away.
The motive is unknown and police are investigating.
In another incident, five matric learners , aged between 20 and 25 years from the Jongintaba Secondary School, were robbed and raped at gunpoint while studying for their final exams in the evening.
Police said a suspect had been arrested . It is not known if he is linked to all these crimes.
The killings and rape of the five children has been condemned by local community members who lamented that they had been calling on the authorities to build a police station in the area or to have police regularly patrolling the village due to the high rate of violence in the area but nothing had been done.
The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the Eastern Cape, Zolile Williams condemned the killings and the rape of the school children. He called on the law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in tracking and bringing to book the perpetrators of these heinous acts.
“The scourge of violence has enveloped the Eastern Cape to levels that have never been experienced before. The violence targeting Traditional Leadership is not only an assault on the institution of Traditional Leadership but an attack on the State because Traditional Leaders are integral part of the State. The perpetrators will be found wherever they may have hid themselves’’.
The recent spate of violence of rape aimed at helpless young girls was unacceptable. It must come to an end. Enough is enough. ‘’It is disheartening to learn that the hoodlums have no shame of even wielding and gunning down a defenceless female Traditional Leader from the royal blood.’’
The Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, confirmed that police were working around the clock to trace and arrest those responsible for the heinous crimes. Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, confirmed that in the first incident, Mtirara was shot dead at Mqhekezweni Administrative Area by two unknown males wearing balaclavas.
The Provincial detectives for the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit were leading the team to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted.
Police have also asked local community members to help them in their investigations to bring the culprits to book. Anyone with information that can assist in tracing these suspects is urged to contact the SAPS Crime Stop number 0860010111 or alternatively furnish the information to the nearest police station.
