Police will be probed for role in civil unrest, Cele tells Phoenix residents
The police will be investigated for their role in the civil unrest which gripped KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last month.
Police Minister Bheki Cele made the promise during a visit to KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday , where he spoke to communities of Phoenix and neighbouring settlements of Bhambayi, Umaoti and Zwelisha.
Cele was accompanied by provincial commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the MEC of Community Safety and Liaison Peggy Nkonyeni and the Peace Committee made up of community representatives.
Spokesperson of the department Lirandzu Temba says the team of detectives, which has been deployed to investigate the Phoenix murders, will also investigate police.
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“The team of 31 detectives deployed to investigate these heinous crimes, has to date arrested 36 suspects for the murders of innocent lives in Phoenix. This team is also investigating the role of police in the violence and looking closely into the role also played by seven private security companies operating in the area.”
The Phoenix killings, which occurred at the height of the country's civil unrest, claimed the lives of 36 people.
This is after vigilante groups masquerading as security companies from the area took the law into their own hands as an act they described as "protecting their property".
