Day: June 8, 2022

Crime intelligence improvement required to prevent mass shootings

I am deeply appalled at yet another mass murder that occurred last night in Khayelitsha. The South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that 4 people were shot at the Madiba supermarket in Site B. Three died in the store and the fourth later at a medical facility. The motive for the shooting is still unknown. I trust that this will soon be established.

Since March this year and including these 4 murders, 26 people have lost their lives in mass shootings in Khayelitsha. Since September 2020, 51 people have been fatally shot in Khayelitsha.

This is a clear failure of crime intelligence, which requires urgent attention. I’ll once again engage the SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile, about how they are attending to this matter, as this cannot continue in this manner. Although we’ve seen arrests in some of the other shootings in Khayelitsha, it seems as if criminals think the area is a free-for-all and they can do as they please.

I call on communities to assist SAPS and provide any information or details they might have, so that these perpetrators who have no regard for life can be arrested and face justice. This incident also further confirms why the current National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele is not fit for office and why a head that does not play politics with crime is required. Further to this, it once again highlights the need for SAPS to be devolved to provinces such as ours, who are more than capable to manage the service. If diplomacy and lobbying is not going to bring about an immediate change, other and further options would have to be considered.

Khayelitsha’s police to resident’s ratio is unacceptable, sitting at 1 officer for every 628 residents. In Harare it 1:879 and Lingelethu West, 1:664. The provincial average is 1:520. Both the National Minister and his deputy, keeps harping on that we’re the most resourced and that a report to this effect will be provided. This report has still not arrived, and the statement alone contradicts the 10% SAPS vacancy rate that we currently have in the Western Cape.

I want our residents not to lose hope. We’ve seen in the latest crime stats how the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers are making a dent in the murder rate, as 8 out of the 14 stations where they are deployed have seen a reduction. Amongst these, Elsiesriver is down by more than 59% and Gugulethu has decreased by more than 32%. We’re also utilising our recently launched Safety Dashboard, which clusters incidents down to police precinct level, which helps to track the type and time of injury, as well as the types of weapons that are being used. The dashboard enables us to deploy resources according to the data and to ensure that we focus on the generators/drivers of violent crimes, particularly murder.

In addition to this, the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate is working on adding capacity to its Strategic information management unit (SIMS) because intelligence driven policing is and should always be a priority.

If we are to overcome crime, it’ll require everyone’s cooperation, which also includes the justice cluster.

Source: Government of South Africa

THABONG: A 32-year-old man appeared in Welkom Magistrate Court for possession of illegal firearm and ammunition.

On Monday, 06 June 2022 a 17-year-old boy was at New Stands section in Thabong when he was robbed of a cellphone at gunpoint by an unknown suspect. Community members who witnessed the incident gave chase and caught the suspect.

While they were busy questioning him, he managed to run away and dropped the firearm on the ground. An unknown man grabbed the firearm from the ground and left the scene.

The incident was reported to Thabong Police and preliminary investigations revealed that the man hid the firearm at his residential place. The house was identified, approached and searched, and the firearm was found where it was hidden in the house.

Atang Nkoka, who is a miner was arrested for possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He appeared in Court on 07 June 2022 and the case was postponed to 14 June 2022 for bail application.

Source: South African Police Service

SIU welcomes the arrest of Mpumalanga COGTA Head of Department (HOD)

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomes the arrest of a top Mpumalanga Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) official over personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud and corruption amounting to R5.9 million.

Head of the Department, Samkelo Ngubane, was arrested on Monday by the Hawks in Mbombela. Ngubane appeared at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravening sections of the Public Finance Management Act. He was released on R10 000 bail and the matter was postponed to 28 July 2022 for further investigation.

Ngubane joins his co-accused Cogta Deputy Director Raymond Manzini, his brother Chris Manzini and director of Gatjeni Ndlovu Trading Moses Ndlovu in the matter.

The arrest of Ndlovu follows an intensive SIU investigation in the Cogta department, which revealed that Gatjeni Ndlovu Trading was solely requested to quote for the supply and delivery of PPE in March 2020. However, after the PPE contract was awarded Ndlovu approached Chris Manzini to take over the purchase without the approval of the department.

SIU investigation further revealed that Chris Manzini, also approached his brother Raymond Manzini, who is a government official, to provide funding for the purchase and delivery of PPE. Raymond Manzini allegedly purchased PPE items from companies that are registered to do business with government and resold the items to the department at inflated prices, in Gatjeni Ndlovu Trading handed an invoice to Raymond Manzini, the financial provider, for the Department to effect payment. Immediately after payment was received, a significant sum of money was transferred to Raymond Manzini’s bank account.

In line with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU referred evidence pointing to the commission of a criminal offense to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action. The prosecution of the Ngubane and his co accused is a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by State institutions and/or to prevent further losses.

Fraud and corruption allegations may be reported via the following platforms: siu@hotline.co.za(link sends e-mail) / Hotline: 0800 037 774.

Source: Government of South Africa

Gauteng Government to officially open a new licensing centre at Gautrain Station

Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, will on Thursday, 09 June 2022, officially open the newly constructed Driving License Testing Centre (DLTC) at the Gautrain Station in Midrand.

The opening of the first DLTC in a Gautrain Station is aimed creating additional capacity to meet the existing demand for license renewals in the province. The new generation centre will offer services such as applications for driver’s license and renewals, issuing of temporary driver’s licenses, as well as payment of traffic fines.

The centre will also provide full online and cashless services as part of the provincial government commitment to exploring new technologies and process optimisation.

Source: Government of South Africa

PRETORIA–The Intellectual Property Rights Section attached to the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team and Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) both from the Hawks at Head office together with Brand protector experts from Spoor & Fisher Attorneys executed a search and seizure disruptive operation in line with Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997.

The joint team pounced in, on a clothing store at Eastgate shopping mall in Bedfordview, Johannesburg on Tuesday, 07 June 2022 following a systematic investigation into illegal trading of Counterfeit clothing items sold to consumers as genuine known brands.

This search was preceded by a test purchase of products to secure a successful search warrant which was obtained and during the search large quantities of counterfeit clothing items bearing well-known brand labels were found and seized for further investigation.

The goods worth a combined value of R100 000-00 were seized and transported to the designated Counterfeit goods depot pending the finalization of the criminal and civil case against the suspects. The shop owner will at a later stage be served with summons to appear in court for contravention of the counterfeit goods Act.

Source: South African Police Service

Robust public participation platform through petitions hearing in the City of Ekurhuleni

The Gauteng Legislature’s Chairperson of the Petitions Standing Committee (PSC), Hon. Ezra Letsoalo will lead a Petitions Public Hearing in Ekurhuleni to resolve the region’s adopted yet unresolved service delivery-related petitions.

Conducted in a hybrid format (partly virtual and part physical), the Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, 9 June 2022 at the Tshepo Themba Multipurpose Centre in Etwatwa (Benoni).

Democratic participation does not end after casting one’s vote during election years. But in between those years, citizens are empowered to engage government through public participation. Petition hearings are a robust public participation platform. Through the hearings, the Committee aims to fast-track the resolution of residents’ petitions to address service delivery challenges in communities, while strengthening the capacity of the Provincial Government and Municipalities to deliver on their mandates.

The hearing will focus on adopted petitions that cover issues like the unsatisfactory development where the community of Barcelona, Etwatwa, are not satisfied with a park and hall that was built in their community despite their input and involvement in the project. The community of Barcelona first put their petition forward in 2015 and has not been resolved to date. Other adopted petitions to be heard range from lack of basic services, land encroachment, allocation of land and RDP homes in the region.

Source: Government of South Africa

THABONG – Police request the community to assist in finding Xolile Simon Jama aged 68 from Thabong who was reported missing on 15 May 2022 at Thabong Police Station.

Anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of the missing person can contact Detective Sergeant Mofukunyana of Thabong Detective Services at 082 453 0759 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Source: South African Police Service