GAUTENG – Residents in Vusimuzi Informal Settlement in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni have discovered 18 bodies over the past 18 months, with police making arrests in only three of the murder cases.
The Gauteng Department of Community Safety released this information in response to an oral question from the Democratic Alliance in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. The latest victim has been identified as Ntombifuthi Nxumalo.
The department confirmed that the 18 deaths resulted from gunshot wounds, fatal assaults, stabbings and burn injuries. Police opened murder investigations in all 18 cases, but 15 remain unsolved with no arrests made.
Liquor drives most crime
The department revealed that about 90% of reported crime in Vusimuzi relates to liquor consumption. Assault and domestic violence make up most of these incidents.
Officials identified several problems in the settlement, including illegal liquor outlets, poor street lighting, bad roads, limited vehicle access and inadequate or duplicated house numbers. The department confirmed that police conduct daily patrols, stop-and-search operations, intelligence-driven operations and joint law-enforcement activities in the area.
DA demands action
Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Tembisa South Constituency Head, said the three arrests from 18 murders show policing failures in the area.
“These are 18 people whose lives have been prematurely taken and whose families are now living with the pain of their loss,” Nt’sekhe said.
The DA plans to table follow-up questions about the number of police vehicles and personnel at Tembisa South Police Station. The party also wants updates on the 15 unsolved murder cases.
Nt’sekhe called on Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who also serves as MEC for Community Safety, to take action. She said the DA has given Lesufi a needs analysis report for all Gauteng police stations and recommended he engage with Acting National Police Minister Firoz Cachalia about devolving policing powers to Gauteng.
The DA said it would push for more police vehicles and officers at stations like Tembisa South if it governed Gauteng. The party wants to increase visible policing in crime hotspots and address poor lighting, bad roads and illegal liquor outlets.
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