Durban - KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, has appealed to the community of uMlazi to work with the police in finding the suspects responsible for killing eight people in Glebelands Hostel on Saturday.
This comes after armed suspects entered room 47 in block 57 at the hostel where a group of 12 people were drinking, and opened fire. Eight people have been confirmed dead.
The department said the motive for the killing was being investigated, and that the police had assembled a high-level team to hunt down the suspects.
Hlomuka said it was shocking that we were again witnessing such heinous crimes. He said it was unacceptable to have so many people killed.
“We have been assured by the police that a team has been assembled and is working on the case. The notorious Glebelands Hostel is once again dominating the headlines for the wrong reasons. This is despite serious work that has been done in stabilising this hostel, including arrests and sentencing of kingpins in the crimes that have engulfed the area in the past year,” said Hlomuka.
The MEC said he had been in contact with the provincial commissioner of police, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, to make sure that the incident was attended to urgently.
The department said the shooting had taken place at a time when there is a sharp focus in police stations such as uMlazi following the release of crime statistics. The police station is featured among the leading stations for having a high number of murder cases.
“The Department of Community Safety and Liaison has activated all crime-fighting structures to work with the police in eliminating illegal firearms and to arrest known criminals.
Crimes such as murder, some of which have happened in the area of Pietermaritzburg, are undermining the progress that police have made in stabilising the province.”
According to the department more resources are being deployed, including new vehicles and personnel in stations as part of the response strategy.