Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka called on police to act swiftly following the shooting that claimed three lives in Mpola in Mariannhill, near Pinetown, a few days ago.
On Wednesday night, four people were shot and three died.
It is alleged that four armed men shot and killed 63-year-old General Phungula, his wife Thulisile, 54, and a neighbour, Sifiso Khomo, 47.
The armed men, whose faces were not covered, allegedly passed through Khomo’s unfenced house to gain access to the Phungula household which was fenced and has CCTV cameras.
Hlomuka called on law enforcement agencies to act quickly and efficiently in arresting those responsible for the murders.
“We cannot allow such callous acts of criminality to go unpunished. I have engaged police management to prioritise such brutal cases. We must ensure that we remove these heartless and vicious thugs from our society. We have a duty to affirm the authority of the state, we will not allow criminals to continue killing our people willy-nilly,” Hlomuka said.
He expressed concern about the number of firearms and ammunition in the hands of criminals and reiterated his call for increased intelligence-driven operations and raids to retrieve these deadly arsenals from criminals.
“Part of our plan to prevent and combat crime is centred around intelligence-driven operations. We are focusing on profiling crime hot spots and ‘criminal havens’ where police are closing the net on all criminal elements during this festive season and beyond,” Hlomuka said.
The MEC encouraged the active citizenry to be able to elevate the war against crime to a higher level.
“Once more, we appeal to community members to play an active role and help fight the scourge of crime. Government and police cannot win this battle alone, we need our people to be brave and dig deep and re-discover their spirit of volunteerism and join our united front against crime,” Hlomuka said.
The Daily News reported that a source, who asked to remain anonymous as he feared for his life, said that when these men passed Khomo’s house he asked them who they were and where they were going.
“Khomo then went to fetch the grass slasher and that is when they fatally shot him,” said the source.
The source said when the four men gained entry into the Phungula house they asked for Thulisile. On their way to her bedroom, they bumped into the husband and shot him dead in front of an 8-year-old child.
It is alleged that they proceeded to kill Thulisile and shot another family member who survived.
“When the shooting happened there were kids in the house between the ages of eight and 13,” said the source.
The Phungula family is related to Sihle Mtshare who is alleged to have been killed by a former police officer from Mariannhill police station, Sergeant Ayanda Ntombela, who is out on bail. When Mtshare was allegedly arrested by Ntombela he was reportedly at the Phungula household.
Daily News