ID parade will be done on five men accused of killing Diepsloot seven

Gauteng police say yet another person was found shot and killed in Diepsloot as the township was still in shock after seven people were murdered at the weekend.

Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the latest incident yesterday. 

"There is one report of murder last night [Tuesday] in Diepsloot, whereby a 52-year-old man was found on the street with a gunshot wound and was declared dead on the scene. A case of murder is opened for further investigations. The motive of the shooting is unknown. No suspects have been arrested," said Nevhuhulwi.

Meanwhile, an identification parade will be conducted in the case involving a group of people accused of killing five of seven men who were allegedly terrorising the community of Diepsloot.

The five suspects appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

They were arrested on Monday for the deaths – two in Extension 13 on Friday and the other five in Extension 12 on Saturday.

They have been charged with five counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, kidnapping as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances. 

One of the men faces an additional charge of contravening the Immigration Act.

The case was postponed to next week for a formal bail application.

Community members came out in numbers to support the group.

Kgakgamatso Sekoto said the real criminals were still wreaking havoc in Diepsloot as shooting incidents persisted.

“Crime still continues in Diepsloot even after the vigilante attacks. This shows you how confident these criminals are. They are untouchable,” she said.

“The real criminals are not deterred, and instead innocent community members are arrested. Police think they have done their work [by arresting] these community members].”

Residents said there was still very little police visibility in the area.

Community leader Lefa Nkala said while they condemned the acts of vigilantism, the community felt unprotected and unheard.

“Not once has any political leader shown up since the attacks on the weekend. We’re not saying they have all the solutions, but they need to show will and intent to get to the bottom of the matter by sitting down with the community and hearing us out.

“We feel neglected and forgotten and this is only going to aggravate the situation because criminals are continuing [to terrorise the community]. We have been calling for the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] and other ministries to [intervene but to] no avail.”

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za