We will find the killers, Cele vows
Police minister visits families of slain victims in Philippi
THE WHITE car used in the killing of two adults and two children, aged 13 and 12, has been found, Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced. During a visit to the crime scene yesterday, he addressed community members in Nonziba Street in Browns Farm, Philippi. He said the police were following up leads.
Cele also asked that community members give them space to carry out the investigation and that those who had information that could help, contact the police.
On Tuesday at 9.30pm in Nonziba Street, four people – Sinethemba Gwatiso, 30, Sazi Velebhayi, 20, Yonela Sxiki, 13, and Kamvalethu Thutani, 13 – were murdered in a parked Toyota Avanza. The fifth victim, Siyabonga Gwatiso,15, is in a stable condition in Groote Schuur Hospital.
A witness and relative of the dead, Nobuhle Balele, 17, said she had seen three men involved in a commotion, but thought they had been robbing a nearby shop. The men had fled in a white Corolla.
Cele also visited the bereaved families on Wednesday. He said it was important to visit the community.
“What kind of person fires five shots at a 12-year-old? Nobuhle saw something terrible. When I went to visit the family, she was trembling, she couldn’t sleep.
“We are following leads, but we will not divulge much because we fear that some people may alert the murderers,” said Cele.
The minister said he was on a mission to change Nyanga’s murder capital status.
He said his department was going to focus on the townships and Cape Flats.
“This space belongs to innocent communities, citizens like yourself. We will be very hard on criminals. We will work hard.
“That is our commitment to the community here. We will find the person who killed our children here, we will get rid of the high number of murders in this place.”
Cele said he was going to clamp down on illegal shebeens and shops that sold stolen items such as cellphones and tyres. He said shop owners would be required to show receipts of where they got their goods.
During a walkabout, he stopped and spoke to local taxi drivers and shop owners.Nomgcobo Dalasile, a resident, told Cele that tik addicts were terrorising the community.
“They rob us and when we identify them, police give them our names and they come back to kill us.
“We are living in fear,” she said.