Diepsloot residents say ‘pleas falling on deaf ears’ as four more killed

Three others were wounded during the spate of shootings in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The four people were shot and killed in separate incidents around the Diepsloot community.

One of the victims was community leader Abel Sithole, who used to patrol around the community in an effort to keep residents safe.

It has been reported that Sithole was the subject of an investigation into vigilante killings in Diepsloot last year.

Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili says it’s unclear of the same suspects are responsible for the shootings.  

"In one of the incidents, the victim was hijacked, shot and killed. The car was later found abandoned in Tembisa.

"In the other incident, the victims were robbed of their belongings, shot and killed. It cannot be confirmed at this stage of the investigation that the incidents can be linked.”

Meanwhile, Diepsloot community leader Loyiso Toyiya says their request for help from authorities has fallen on deaf ears.

"We have made several calls to the government to intervene in the situation of crime in Diepsloot, and our plea has fallen on deaf ears. We have heard that two suspects have been arrested with the deceased’s car in Tembisa, and the two others ran away.

"You can imagine that in the second week of the new year, four people have been killed. We, as the community of Diepsloot, do not feel safe. As other people are planning on how to progress in 2024, as a community we are planning on how to protect ourselves, how to defend ourselves. We are burying our loved ones at the hands of criminals.

"We have said to our government we want a permanent solution in our community. They must come down and implement this solution. Instead, what they do is to come and implement temporary measures when there is media, and once the media is gone, the temporary measures goes as well.”

ALSO READ