‘Red’s murder is behind killings’: Drug turf war cause of Mitchells Plain shootings, says MEC
|Published
MEC Albert Fritz in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain, on walkabout on Monday. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane African News Agency(ANA)
Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz says the killing of alleged 27s gang boss William “Red” Stevens is the reason for the recent spate of shootings in Mitchells Plain.
He made the statement during a visit to the families of two slain teens in Beacon Valley on Monday.
Stevens, 66, was shot and killed at his Scottsville home on 2 February, and Fritz says it now appears drug lords in the Northern suburbs are trying to muscle in on the Plain.
Addressing the media outside murder victim Tamir Rao Mitchells’ home, Fritz said people have many theories about the two drive-by shootings which claimed the lives of six people.
“All of us have our own theories but one of the main theories is that during the lockdown, the smuggling of drugs was controlled because we had roadblocks all over,” he said.
“What we (government) think happened after the killing of the person in Kraaifontein, Red, he was at a high level, these are the bosses… the gang bosses, it seems like after Red’s murder, the people from that side are now coming to this side and shoot in the territory of the opposition. It all has to do with the drug market.”
He expressed his concerns about the killing of innocent victims, like on Thursday when Tamir, 13 and Morgan Munnik, 18, were gunned down while on their way to the shop.
And on Saturday in Maureen Crescent, Tafelsig, residents Ismail Abrahams, 64, Tashwell Daniels, 30, and Shane Williams, 37, were shot in the head while standing in the street.
Mogamat Sauls, 37, was shot in the chin and foot, but survived the shooting.
“We will try and stabilise Mitchells Plain because we fear the violence will escalate,” said Fritz.
He said 80 Law Enforcement officers have been deployed to assist the police, while Mitchells Plain will be included in the second phase of the Area-Based Teams (ABT) programme that will be rolled out in communities most affected by violent crime.
Fritz has promised to stay in touch with the Mitchells Plain police so he can inform the families on the progress of the cases.
“We will be monitoring all the cases and then update the families because they never know what is happening with cases.”
The minister says there have been no arrests for the shootings.
Stevens, controversial businessman Mark Lifman and alleged leader of the Sexy Boys gang, Jerome “Donkie” Booysen were arrested on 23 December in connection with the murder of international steroid smuggler Brian Wainstein in 2017.
The trio were granted bail of R100 000 each.
Meanwhile, Acting Western Cape Police Commissioner Major-General Thembisile Patekile says removing illegal firearms from the streets will make communities safer.
In addition to the Mitchells Plain bloodbath, four men in their 30s came under attack from two assailants in Thubelitsha, Delft, on Sunday, and two were killed.
And two brothers, aged 17 and 19, were shot dead in Site B, Khayelitsha on Sunday afternoon.
“In all these crime incidents and other murders recorded in the week, firearms were used.
“With illegal firearms off the streets, the Province’s communities will be safer,” says Patekile.
In the past week, cops have confiscated 30 illegal firearms and ammunition in various operations.