Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka has condemned the vigilantism following the killing of seven men suspected of criminal activities in KwaMashu on Monday night.
Hlomuka applauded the assigning of the provincial Organised Crime Unit to the case by the KZN SAPS provincial commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to what he referred to as a sign of commitment in ensuring that each act of criminality is viewed in a serious light.
“I urge the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. As a department of community safety and liaison working together with the police, we are still committed to ensuring peace and stability not only in eThekwini metro but throughout the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We are also committed to repairing the broken trust between the police and community members, as I have confidence that there are plenty of men and women in blue who are committed to dying with their boots on just to protect the law-abiding citizens of this province,” Hlomuka said.
He said that the docket has been handed to the provincial Organised Crime Unit to investigate the motive behind this barbaric act, to ensure that whoever is responsible for whatever reason is brought to book.
Hlomuka also encouraged the community to work with the police and community safety structures to share any information that might assist the police to establish what really transpired.
KZN police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said that on Monday at 11pm, KwaMashu police received information that seven men were attacked and shot underneath a railway bridge at the corner of Malandela Road and the M25 off-ramp.
“All seven deceased who are in their thirties, were found lying next to a pillar of the railway bridge and in a straight line with gunshot wounds to the head and body. Police found 18 x 9mm spent cartridges on the crime scene,” Naicker said.
He said that information received from the crime scene is that the deceased lived under the railway bridge and were involved in criminality in the area.
“At this stage, the motive is suspected to be vigilantism. The case docket has been allocated to detectives from the provincial Organised Crime Unit and we are confident that they will be able to make a breakthrough in this matter,” Naicker said.
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