Spate of killings believed to be drug-related

CALLS have been made to the provincial security cluster and government to intervene, after mass shootings and killings in the province. This is after 14 people were killed in separate incidents on Friday.

According to the police, six people were shot and killed in Inanda’s Amaoti area and eight were killed in esigcakini in Richmond, which they believed to be drug-related.

Kwazulu-natal ANC spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said the growing number of people who are killed in mass shootings was “shocking” ... “It can’t be business as usual for criminals to run amok and instil continuous fear in our communities in a democratic state.

“One of the major challenges confronting our communities is the issue of drug abuse and drug lords fighting turf wars with impunity,” said Ntombela.

Richmond Municipality spokesperson Sibonelo Bhengu said they were shocked and appalled by the carnage and called on law enforcement authorities to act against the perpetrators.

“We call on the police to bring to book those who committed these vile acts. We as a nation haven’t healed from the unfortunate deaths caused by the Covid-19 plague and it’s shocking that others would still go on to cause more deaths,” Bhengu said.

The SAPS are investigating eight murders and two attempted murders that occurred at a homestead in esigcakini, Richmond. “Neighbours alerted police after they heard gunshots emanating from the homestead. Their investigations led them to the bodies of eight people. The deceased are aged between 15 and 41,” said SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker.

Naicker said their Inanda branch was investigating six counts of murder after a shooting incident at Amaoti on Friday.

“At this stage, information gathered from the scene indicates that the deceased were seated behind a tuck shop, consuming drugs, and that the attack might be drug-related.”

Meanwhile, residents in Wentworth have been living in fear, hiding in their homes, as rival gangs got into turf wars in broad daylight on Thursday. Three people were wounded in a drive-by shooting. Shots were allegedly fired by the occupants of a white Toyota Etios, which police later found abandoned.

André de Bruyn, a Wentworth community activist, said gang turf wars were not new in the area. “The drug market is lucrative and people have lost their jobs due to Covid-19, so they turn to the darker side of life. Wentworth police has failed us, we feel betrayed,” he said.

Wentworth ward councillor Aubrey Snyman said the community had been traumatised by the shootings, with innocent people being caught in the crossfire.