WeeklySA_AdminTracking: Police are tracking on 11 other suspects
By Monk Nkomo
POLICE made a major breakthrough today in arresting one of the alleged masterminds of the orchestrated deadly trail of looting, deaths and destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
In a move that could shed light on the reasons behind the destructive deeds that left both major and small businesses in dire straits, Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said police were on the hunt for eleven other accused who are ring leaders of the massive looting and almost the total collapse of economic activity especially in KwaZulu-Natal.
‘’One of the 12 alleged instigators is in custody and the SAPS tracking team has increased the surveillance of the remaining 11’’, Ntshavheni said during an update on the security situation in the country. The identity of the most sought after dangerous criminals have not yet been made public.
She also reported that the situation in KZN remained volatile but much improved towards stability. Overnight, 39 incidents had been reported and 392 additional arrests had been made bringing the total number of arrests in the province to 1478, said Ntshavheni. ‘’Reported deaths that have been verified as linked to the violence are cumulatively 91 in KZN.’’
Ntshavheni added that the provincial Commissioners of the SAPS had activated the SAPS social crime prevention strategy and had been engaging with various stakeholders including community based organisations, traditional leaders and the business community in order to amplify current operational plans to best tackle the looting and destruction of property currently prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
‘’ The Government would like to commend the collaboration between the police and community through established platforms such as Community Policing Forums and Community in Blue.
‘’Since the media briefing of yesterday afternoon, there have been a number of developments with regard to the security situation mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. We are pleased with the reports that the Gauteng province is largely calm and there have been fewer incidents overnight”, said Ntshavheni.
Another 139 suspects had been arrested in Gauteng bringing the total to 725 arrests. To date, the SAPS had received reports of a total 26 deaths so far in Gauteng which were related to the violence.
Ntshavheni said six bodies were discovered on the roof of Tembisa South mall in Tembisa and an inquest has been opened.
‘’We also note that there are reports of some armed community members brandishing firearms and or dangerous weapons publicly in an apparent retaliation against perpetrators of the public violence.
Government would like to caution the public that although persons are entitled to protect their property and lives, as long as this is done in a manner that everyone’s right to life is protected as provided for in our Constitution; and can only be infringed in extremely limited circumstances, in order to, inter alia, protect the life or bodily integrity of the defender. We don’t want a situation where members of the public are at logger-heads with the law after such a noble effort,’’ said Ntshavhen
‘’Of concern to us as government are the reports of racial tensions in areas such as Phoenix, Durban. The Ministers have visited the area and engaged various stakeholders to resolve racial tensions. Furthermore, members of the SANDF and the SAPS have been deployed in the area to restore law and order in the area.’’
