Soldiers for gang hot spots
Police arrest four new suspects in Marikana killings
Soldiers are to be sent to gangridden areas in Western Cape and other parts of the country by Christmas‚ according to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula.
“It is going to happen. We are processing it in terms of the operational plan. Thereafter the president will give us the green light. It will happen before Christmas‚” he told a briefing at the Philippi East police station in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Mbalula said the South African National Defence Force did not do police work so soldiers would have to be linked to an operation for a specific period.
“We do not want society to feel under siege‚ that the army has arrived. So we want the police and the police generals to work out a plan. And when the president signs‚ he must sign knowing where the army is going and for how long and for which operations. They will be deployed in specific hot spots‚ here in the Western Cape‚ and we’ll probably add the Eastern Cape‚ parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
“The operation will be police-led‚” said Mbalula.
He announced that four people directly linked to the murders in September of 11 people in Marikana informal settlement in Philippi had been arrested. The police had announced arrests before‚ but suspects were released due to lack of evidence.
Ten people arrested in connection with the case were released after being photographed lying handcuffed on the road in Mbalula’s twitter account.
Mbalula said the four new suspects behind bars were also linked to other crimes.
“One suspect is still on the run and we’ll round him up very soon as police follow the leads. Our aim is to show that we have zero tolerance for criminals.”
Provincial police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula said the four suspects‚ residents of Marikana‚ were arrested on Monday. One was arrested in Queenstown in Eastern Cape. They are expected to appear in court soon and until then their identities have been withheld. –