National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has expressed deep concern about what he described as under-reporting of extortion-related crimes in the Mthatha area, where businesses, schools and organisations were being forced by criminals to pay a “protection fee”.
A police officer attached to the National Intervention Unit recently came under fire from a suspect who was subsequently wounded and remains under police guard in hospital.
The Mthatha CBD has been in headlines following brazen extortion-related crimes, where schools, businesses, health facilities and NGOs were forced to pay a protection fee or risk being targeted by criminals. Among those alleged to have been at the centre of extortion-related crime was self-proclaimed chief Daluxolo Mareke, who along with two accomplices, was killed in a police shootout last week.
During his visit to the area on Sunday, Masemola said: “I am, however, concerned that the number of cases that have been reported since our visit with the minister of police three weeks ago, does not reflect the extent of the problem that has been reported through the media and during our engagements with communities. Simply put, there is under-reporting of cases when it comes to extortion. This is indeed worrisome, because for police to ultimately win the war against these extortionists, we are going to require community members to report these incidents by opening cases with the police.”
Since the launch of the hotline, two weeks ago, a total of 1180 calls were received. Of those calls, 688 were prank calls and 431 were those who called to verify the line.
“A total number of cases which were reported via the hotline which are related to extortion are only 38. We are assuring communities that a dedicated team of investigators and members from specialised units that are attached to the task team dealing with extortions are working on the information. Some of the cases that one can highlight that are extortion-related include the case where our members were attacked at their base and three people were shot and killed including a local traditional leader who was being investigated on allegations of extortion. In that incident three firearms have been seized and taken for ballistics testing to determine if they can be linked to other crimes,” said Masemola
He said a lot of work has been put in through intelligence gathering on suspected syndicates linked to extortion and protection fees. Tracing operations, roadblocks, vehicle checkpoints and searching of persons have been conducted.
“I am extremely encouraged by the work that the police are doing in this province to restore law and order. You will recall that from mid-August, we have deployed additional members to support and augment the available resources and capacity in this province to deal decisively with extortion,” said Masemola.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Master Builders South Africa in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala applauded the police for their renewed efforts and determined energy in dealing with the scourge of extortion across the country.
“While supporting economic transformation, fighting the exploitation that characterises subcontracting, and eliminating late payments, we must equally be steadfast that we cannot allow an important sector like construction to be captured by dangerous criminals who do not hesitate to take lives to get what they want.”
Cape Times