Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to intensify and conclude the investigation into the killing of 11 people in Umlazi this week.

The township in KwaZulu-Natal was this week rocked by a double mass murder that saw six people slain on Sunday and a further five on Tuesday evening.

Cele went to the province on Thursday to visit the scenes and get a report from provincial police management.

On Sunday, 29 August 2021, six people were shot and killed at the U Section of Umlazi. Two days later, three gunmen opened fire inside a house in the W Section of the township, killing five people, with three others sustaining serious injuries.

Cele in a statement said while police are yet to make arrests on both cases, they are following up on a strong lead in the one incident, which is set to shed more light into the motive and whether or not the shootings are linked.

“Most of those killed in both these incidents, including the 14-year-old boy, were sadly people at the wrong place at the wrong time, but some were unsavoury characters who were linked to criminality taking place in surrounding areas.

“A profile of one of the deceased shows he was a convicted criminal, who was arrested and handed a 12-year suspended sentence for very serious crimes, including counts of armed robbery and possession of an illegal firearm. However, police must find the killers of these 11 people, regardless of who they were and what they did.”

Meanwhile, Cele commended the progress in investigations into the brutal murder of 36 people in Phoenix during the July civil unrest that rocked the KZN and Gauteng.

In total, 56 suspects have so far been arrested by the detective team deployed to the area to investigate the murders.

Further, the Minister noted the developments in the investigations into the killing of Gauteng Health department whistleblower, Babita Deokaran. Announcing the arrest of an additional two suspects, Cele commended the speed with which the team has been able to crack the case.

Source: South African Government News Agency