Residents have no confidence in Mariannhill cops after mass shootings

Elderly residents of Mariannridge, west of Durban, are living in terror of drug peddling which has resulted in a surge in brutal murders.

“We are having a rough time. We can't even call the police because of victimisation. We have to be very careful about how we talk,” said a resident who declined to reveal her identity.

Last month, the area was thrust into the spotlight when five people were killed when gunmen stormed two separate motor vehicle workshops and opened fire.

The incident mirrored an incident  last July in which five people died.

Nonhle Shezi, who lost her father Dumani Shezi, 53, said though they did not have the full details of the arrests made, she remained hopeful that those arrested would be linked to her father's death.

The Mariannhill police station was visited by DA shadow minister of police Andrew Whitfiled, accompanied by the party's provincial leaders.

Neighbouring Nagina Hills resident Lindie van Tonder said the area was gripped by a spike in crimes such as housebreakings and carjackings in which people are usually hijacked outside the area and then dumped in the area.

“In the past four months there were two hijackings in our area. This misconception that Nagina is a hotspot for crime needs to be dispelled. It's the hijacked which are dropped off in a dead-end on Nagina Drive and parts are taken to informal settlements and then later sold,” said Van Tonder.

Mariannhill station commander Col Muzi Thwala said they had made an arrest and confiscated a firearm related to one of the mass shootings.

He said with the new financial year starting in April they hoped to receive more resources. The station had been boosted by three new vehicles which it had received recently.

He came to the defence of his members deemed to be buckling under the crime surge.

Plans are also on cards for the building of a new police station, a move which is expected to come as a relief as the police station operates from park home structures.

“I heard that there is land approved. We are waiting for the feedback and a further directive as to when it will be built,” said Thwala, who assumed the position in February 2022.

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 Whitfield said their engagement with Thwala had highlighted various issues which cut across different police stations. The issues ranged from resource constraints, deployment of personnel, shortage of vehicles and issues related to supply chains.

“What came out here were positive developments in bringing down some of the crime, which indicated that there is new leadership. There is definitely attention to detail, which is a good sign,” he said.

He hoped that the positive elements would help in curbing other negative elements.

“There are two outstanding issues:  the high number of attempted murders and murders, together with other violent crimes,”  said Whitfield.

He said this was a result of organised crime. He said recent crime statistics had shown a huge leap of incidents of mass shootings in the country, with is almost 300 cases recorded in the previous quarter.

“That's an outrageous number of people who can be taken out indiscriminately. Usually what you see behind that is the failure of crime intelligence to pinpoint how these killings are being planned,” said Whitfield.

This had lead to the DA concluding that crime intelligence was not well capacitated or well resourced enough to do it's the work.

“The syndicates are often more organised than the police themselves. This is something we are worried about. When you see the level of organised crime operating it's inevitable that there is some form of co-operation between certain police and organised criminals,” said Whitfield.

He argued that criminals have more intelligence capabilities than the police .

 Whitfield expressed optimism that the station was on high alert ahead of the planned shutdown by the EFF.

" Obviously people have a right to protest but they should not infringe on the rights of hard-working South Africans who want to get the economy running again,” he said.

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