Nyanga police station.
The community of Nyanga has made an urgent call to police to speed up their investigations into the recent spate of killings in the area.
This comes after two women and an 18-year-old boy were shot dead on Wednesday February 21.
The incident has fuelled fears that the war between various gangs is spiralling out of control.
Western Cape police spokesperson, Colonel Andre Traut, could not confirm nor deny that the killings were related to the underworld. However, he said that they had reason to believe that the two women were specifically targeted and that the young man was passing by when he was shot.
Colonel Traut said detectives from the serious and violent crimes unit are probing the circumstances that led to the deaths of the three people. “It is believed that the occupants of a Suzuki seven-seater opened fire on the victims. Two females were shot and killed while a male was caught in the crossfire and also succumbed,” he said.
According to the police no one has been apprehended as yet.
Both the local councillor Sandile Martins and Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Dumisani Qwebe said the community was starting to fear for their lives.
Mr Martins said the rate of killings is worrisome. “What worries me more is that women are dying. That alone is telling us that there is a serious problem that needs to be quickly tackled. Many people have lost their lives already, and we do not even know who is behind it. Why are these people being killed, and who will be next?”
He said people have every right to be scared. He said as a councillor he is in consultation with other stakeholders including police to see what best can be done to fight crime.
He also urged the residents to help police identify the killers.
“Our urgent call is that the police speed up their investigations and stop this carnage before many innocent people are caught in the crossfire. If I can advise the community, I would say let us be vigilant and report any suspicious cars and people roaming around our areas,” he said.
Mr Qwebe said people are now losing hope and it is their duty and that of police to assure people of their safety. “Since January 17, we have been experiencing deaths in high numbers. Normally it used to be Browns’s farm that had these killings but now it is here in Nyanga. But I want to assure people that we are not relaxing but trying by all means to have programmes to try to fight the scourge,” he said.
One resident in her 40s said innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. “What that means is no one is safe in our areas. We need police to be visible and soldiers to patrol our areas. To say we will protect ourselves is a dream. We do not have guns and these people shoot to kill,” she said.
Another resident expressed fears for young boys who might get lured into a life of crime.
“Our children are easily influenced. To them this is what they've seen on television and now it is happening right here. They will easily copy it and run with it. So this thing has a long impact. Authorities need to nip it in the bud as early as yesterday,” he said.
The police are appealing to anyone with information about the shooting to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.