The spate of shootings in taverns in Soweto, Katlehong and Pietermaritzburg at the weekend do not appear to have been co-ordinated, police minister Bheki Cele said on Monday.
Speaking to residents in Soweto, Cele said: “There is that thing [allegations] that it could have been a co-ordinated weekend. We don't have that information as police .... We had separate issues, especially the Pietermaritzburg one, Nomzamo one and the Katlehong one. They happened in shebeens, but we believe that they coincided rather than [were] co-ordinated.” “We don't believe it's terrorism. It is a criminality that is brutal. It is a criminality that is violent ...
We will need to have some evidence, as the police, to be able to say so — otherwise we will be really speculating on a serious matter.Residents complained about a lack of police visibility and blamed police for failing to fight crime in the area. Most complained that the area was very dark at night, with muggings increasing. “When we report these issues at the police station, police in Orlando say they don't go to the settlement in the evening because they are being shot at,” he said.
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