NATIONAL NEWS - Police Minister Bheki Cele says the death toll in Phoenix has increased to 36 and 22 people have been arrested in connection to the murders in the area, north of Durban.
Cele said 30 of the deceased persons were shot dead while the rest were either burnt to death, stabbed or succumbed to injuries they sustained.
“Two [people] were burnt to death. One was stabbed and another was run over by a motor vehicle. Two others died from the brutal injuries they sustained after being assaulted,” he said.
Deaths increase
Speaking during a media briefing on Tuesday, Cele explained that community members in Phoenix had set up patrols in the neighbourhood’s streets after the rampant looting and violent unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal started.
“The situation then rapidly deteriorated and the streets of Phoenix became scenes of crime, with checkpoints turned into vigilantism, racially profiling people, preventing them entry into the area,” he said.
The action taken by the community members led to “to unlawful discrimination, and restriction of movement for mainly Africans”, Cele said.
Investigations
He further said police are investigating 52 cases of attempted murder/murder and nine cases of robbery and 16 cases of common assaults and grievous bodily harm (GBH), adding that arrests have been made.
“I want to be very clear about this: what happened in Phoenix were criminal acts of the worst kind which also took a racial turn. These acts have no place in our society and the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted.
“A team of 31 experienced detectives from the province and national, have been deployed to investigate, make arrests and attend court cases to ensure justice prevail. Working closely with the communities, their investigations have led to the arrest of 22 suspects so far,” he said.
Cele revealed that some of the suspects are allegedly connected to several murder cases while others face charges of attempted murder, malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice.
The minister continued to say that police are also looking into the role of private security firms in the Phoenix killings.
He pointed out that 112 illegal firearms have also been seized during police operations in Phoenix.
