By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Services (SAPS) in the Western Cape launched a manhunt for the killers of seven men who were gunned down on Friday night in Philippi East, Cape Town.
The incident occurred on Road R53 in Philippi East, a suburb in Cape Town’s Cape Flats area, where seven men aged between 20 and 30 were fatally shot in what authorities described as a “senseless act of violence.”
According to a statement issued Saturday morning by the SAPS, police in the Western Cape have launched a large-scale manhunt following the shooting.
“Detectives attached to the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit have been assigned to the case and are pursuing every available lead to identify and apprehend those responsible for this brutal attack,” the statement said.
“The Western Cape police management has strongly condemned this senseless act of violence and confirmed that the investigation has been prioritized to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice,” it added.
Provincial Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile expressed concern about the level of violence and appealed to community members to assist the police by sharing any information that could aid the investigation.
“Community cooperation is crucial to bringing those responsible to book and restoring safety to our neighborhoods,” Patekile said.
The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, and no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday the latest postponement of the release of the first quarter crime statistics is “unacceptable and deeply troubling”, adding that it will write to Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia again to ask for the release date, while ActionSA has called for the immediate release of the statistics and an explanation for the delay.
The crime statistics for the first quarter were due at the end of August, the same time at which the South African Police Service (Saps) released last year’s data.
DA spokesperson on Police Lisa Schickerling said the figures were already seven weeks overdue, and said the lack of a timeframe was “indefensible”.
She said the Saps’ and Cachalia’s silence on the matter was “growing louder by the day”.
The ongoing delay and lack of communication from Saps suggested a worrying disregard for accountability and openness, she added.
ActionSA Member of Parliament Dereleen James said the delays were taking place amid deepening turmoil within the Police Ministry, as well as uncertainty over the Acting Minister’s authority, a leadership vacuum at Saps, and ongoing investigations by an ad hoc committee into governance failures within the Ministry.
She said as violent crime continues to terrorise communities across South Africa, the “lack of transparency and accountability is unacceptable”.