By Amy Musgrave
A team of seasoned detectives are on the ground in Ncenjana Location outside Mthatha following another mass shooting in Eastern Cape, which claimed the lives of five people who were sleeping in Bityi on Friday night.
This is the third mass killing in the province in recent weeks.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane told SABC that he was very concerned about the spate of violent killings.
“The rate of crime is escalating as we are seeing it and it looks like we are coexisting with criminals in every village [which] is something we are not used,” he said.
“It looks like now that we will be waking up with the sad news of deaths that have been witnessed through the barrel of a gun. It is a very painful process that we as the province are going through.
“… these crimes are really organised crimes. It’s not something that happens spontaneously. People plan.”
Mabuyane said the police needed more capacity, citing an example in some rural areas where police stations were 20km away from communities.
“So clearly the strategy must be reviewed on how you deploy resources to prevent crime, particularly in rural areas.”
Mabuyane and Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene have once again called on communities to work with the police to combat crime and bring criminals to book.
In the latest incident, two men and three women died, while two injured children were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Mene said in a statement that she had instructed a team of detectives to work around the clock until the culprits were arrested.
On Friday, three suspects, all of whom have previous convictions, appeared in the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court in connection with the killing of 18 people.
The trio all abandoned their bail applications.
So far six suspects have been arrested in connection with the Lusikisiki murders and police are now investigating possible links between some of the shootings in the province.
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