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FILE: Police in uniform at a crime scene.
Residents of Bhambayi in KwaZulu-Natal are expressing anger and fear after three community patrollers were killed during a confrontation with suspected members of the West Gang.
It is alleged that the suspects opened fire when a group of patrollers, armed with sjamboks, attempted to stop and search them.
One of the suspects was also shot dead in the incident.
The incident follows previous violence linked to the same group, after five people believed to be associated with the gang were hacked to death in the area at the beginning of last year.
A leader of community patrollers in the Bhambayi area near Inanda, Tembile Mdiya, says that a group of about 16 of them, following up on several house robberies, got together and went to the Chencele area.
He says, “When we got there, several households reported to us that 3 boys came in and pointed firearms and took cell phones. In the other house. They took laptops. We went out as patrollers, and we did our job to try and see if we can’t track and see the suspects. We worked through the night, and after midnight, we came across 3 boys at the number 5 area”.
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Residents say crime in the area has escalated. Resident Ndu Radebe says more than 20 break-ins and house robberies were reported in the past week.
Radebe says, “The robbers tell their victims, the notorious West gang is back. What they do is go around. If they see your house is open, they will enter the house, uh, take this thing, your phone or laptop. Even worse, they can even instruct you to open your app where they will transfer your money and then after that, they lock you in the house, then they go to the next house.”
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has cautioned community members against confronting suspects directly.
Police spokesperson Robert Nechiunda says, “We encourage active community participation in the fight against crime. It is the only way that we can win the fight against crime. However, community structures like the CPF and other substructures must be the eyes and ears of the police, and never take actions that may endanger their lives. We have seen criminals shooting at police officers, meaning that they will never think twice before shooting at a civilian.”
Residents have called for increased police visibility in the area and support for community patrollers.
