POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has promised the people of Mkhondo that he will deal with the rise in what seems to be cases of political killings in Mpumalanga.
He said this while visiting the area on Monday, 16 January.
Cele’s visit comes three days after the assassination of an ANC ward councillor Sbonelo Mthembu, ANC activist Sizwe Mbingo and mechanic Sabelo Nhleko.
The three were gunned down on Friday, 13 January, in a certain yard at Longhomes township.
It is alleged that three suspects appeared in the same yard and started shooting several times before fleeing.
Cele, who was accompanied by police deputy minister Cassel Mathale, national police boss General Fannie Masemola, provincial police boss Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela and Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane visited the families of all those who were assassinated.
Residents have raised concerns that since the killings started in 2017, there have been no arrests made in a number of cases.
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Last year November, ANC deputy chairman in the Gert Sibande District, Muzi Manyathi, was gunned down at a petrol station.
Residents claim that the police know the killers but they have not done anything.
Cele said the fact that there are 12 deaths in the province related to this kind of killings and zero arrests in some cases shows that there is a gap somewhere.
“There are about five cases that are still in court, but for the rest of the cases there are absolutely no arrests.
“Hence we are taking this over and anchoring it in the office of the national commissioner. We are That kind of action we are conceding that something better should have been done. These families will have to find an answer and many other families that have faced the same situation and the people of Mkhondo, Mpumalanga will have to know. We have faced such a situation before at least we have a reference of things that have to be corrected. Even this oneputting our heads on the block to say the situation must change,” he said.
He said that the police will make arrests but want to do things in a way that there won’t be regrets.
“The investigating team will have to do thorough work. By the time the perpetrators are arrested, the cases should not end in a withdrawal of cases or acquittal.
“While it is a difficult thing to do and it will take longer, we request members of the community to give us space.
“We understand that tensions and the expectations are high, and that people want things to happen quickly.
“But at the end of the day, the results must tell that the work was done thoroughly. When If I had, I would have said they must arrest them by yesterday but by the time someone gets arrested, the whole process should be done in a solid way so that that the arrested people don’t just become tourists in prison but they stay there for a long time,” he said.
The provincial ANC leadership was also expected to visit the families this afternoon.
