Action Society is disappointed that there have not yet been any arrests for the brutal murder of three young women in Khayelitsha on Sunday night. The three women aged 17, 20 and 21 were shot dead execution-style in Khayelitsha’s Block TT.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is severely understaffed in the Western Cape. The province has the largest majority of vacant posts in the police. There are some 5 000 vacancies in the province that is bearing the brunt of the South African gender-based violence pandemic.
By 1pm on Monday afternoon, the mother of one of the three young women shot dead, had still not heard anything from the police. Speaking to the media outside her home, the mother said: “They haven’t said anything to me. All I know is that my daughter and her friends have been shot dead.” At the time of writing this press release, the circumstances and motive that led to the brutal murder was still unknown. The SAPS has instituted a 72-hour activation plan for the mobilisation of resources in search of the suspects.
“We call on the SAPS to ensure that every possible avenue is investigated. They must leave no stone unturned. The SAPS should not rest until these criminals are arrested and brought to book,” says Action Society Spokesperson Nomfundo Jele.
Jele adds: “Action Society supports the decentralisation of the SAPS. Federal police in South Africa is the answer to restore accountability and improve service delivery. With the devolution of the SAPS, policing will improve because with community safety structures, and provincial and local government law enforcement structures that don’t always have the same broad mandate that the SAPS does, the structures will be able to focus more on the safety of citizens”.
Action Society believes that this was a hit and not a random shooting. We will be following the developments of this case very closely. We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the three women.
ISSUED BY: Action Society
DATE: 29 September 2021
