Cele: Additional officers deployed to KZN, Gauteng amid spate of ‘political killings’
Police Minister Bheki Cele was in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday to visit the family of slain a Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ward councilor candidate.
Thulani Shangase, the ward 20 councilor candidate in the Msunduzi Municipality, was gunned down on Sunday while returning from an EFF campaign meeting in Dambula in Herwood.
Speaking to media outside the home of Shangase, Cele said that additional officers have been deployed to hotspot areas plagued with political killings, including in Gauteng.
“We have started placing more officers in hotspot areas. It’s not the whole of Gauteng that gives us a headache. Mostly its Tshwane. We have sent extra personnel both in Mamelodi and Mabopane where Tshepo Motuang was killed. So here in KZN (the police task force) have been given extra personnel, eThekwini is one of the problematic areas.”
Cele said the political task force has arrested over 200 people since it’s inception.
“Since the task force has come, they have arrested 284 people, out of those 9 of them are doing life sentences, and 22 of them are doing years between 10 and 15 years.
“Working close with prosecution, we have managed to keep around 69 people in custody which is something that is not seen often as people get bail all the time. We have managed to keep them in custody.”
He added the task team are still investigating Shangase’s murder and are yet to establish the motive behind the shooting.
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