The Democratic Alliance has expressed outrage over two mass shootings that claimed seven lives across the Western Cape this weekend, calling for provincial and local governments to be granted greater investigative powers to tackle the proliferation of illegal firearms.
Benedicta van Minnen, MPP and DA Western Cape spokesperson on police oversight and community safety, said the tragedies highlight the devastating flood of illegal firearms in communities and the failure of the centralised South African Police Service to address the illicit gun trade.
“We share the grief of the affected families and wish the injured survivors a full recovery. The loss of young lives to gun violence cannot be allowed to become normalised. The current centralised policing model is ineffective because it completely fails to stop the supply of illegal weapons at the source,” Van Minnen said.
The weekend violence began on Saturday evening in Wesbank, Kuils River, where gunmen opened fire in Strandveld Street at around 20:00, killing three women and one man, aged between 32 and 39. A seven-year-old child was wounded and taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
Less than 14 hours later, on Sunday morning, two armed men entered a house in Jakaranda Street, Groendal, Franschhoek, and fired multiple shots at the occupants. Three men, aged between 30 and 35, died at the scene, whilst a woman and another man sustained injuries and were hospitalised.
Van Minnen criticised the centralised leadership of the South African Police Service, arguing that frontline detectives and station officers are being stifled by a top-heavy national command structure that denies them necessary intelligence resources to disrupt heavily armed syndicates.
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“There is an urgent need to expand policing powers to other capable spheres of government. Whilst visible policing through initiatives like LEAP is vital, local authorities must be empowered with investigative capacity to build court-ready dockets. Capable local and provincial governments must have the legislative authority to investigate these criminal syndicates, track down illegal firearms, and ensure violent killers are permanently removed from our streets,” Van Minnen added.
The Provincial Serious Violent Crimes unit has taken over both investigations. Preliminary investigation suggests the Kuils River incident may be gang-related, though police have not confirmed a motive for either attack. No arrests have been made in either case, and manhunts for the suspects are underway.
The DA in the Western Cape extended its condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed.
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