Security Cluster Ministers have assured the nation, that ensuring a free fair and safe election is non-negotiable.

This, as three women were gunned down over the weekend and five others sustained injuries following a drive-by shooting outside a primary school in Inanda township in Durban.

Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele and his deputy Cassel Mathale as well as the Deputy Minister of State Security Agency Zizi Kodwa, on Tuesday 14 September 2021, visited the township. The first stop was at the local police station where they received a full briefing from the investigation team and also conducted a site visit to the crime scene, were Ncami Shange, Beatrice Nzama and Philisiwe Jili lost their lives.

Minister Cele says the shooting was an act of intimidation ahead of the elections.

“Those who committed this horrible act, it’s clear to us that it was more intimidation than targeting a particular person. Police must find out why they did this and who exactly sent them. The fact that this was a political gathering, it’s in this score that the political task team in the province is now investigating this crime and the team is already working on a few leads.”

The KZN Political Task team has to date, arrested and charged 271 people for crimes related to political violence in the province.

State Security Agency Deputy Minister, Zizi Kodwa echoed Minister Cele’s sentiments that such cowardly acts won’t go unpunished.

“Such an attack, is directed on our constitution, it’s an attack on the system of democracy, as the JCPS, we would like to encourage South Africans not to be threatened by these acts of intimidation and rest assured that we in the security cluster are working on a plan to protect these elections and ensure the safety of all those participating in the democratic process.”

Part of the plan is to closely monitor identified areas in the Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces and working closely with law enforcements, including the SANDF, in the lead up to the November local government elections.

Meanwhile, the Ministers also paid comfort visits to the bereaved families of the three women who were killed in the drive by shooting, assuring them that police will explore all avenues in pursuit of justice and police will address their security concerns, following the brutal attack of their loved ones.

Source: South African Police Service