THE mass shooting in Tina Falls, Qumbu, that killed six people and injured four on Sunday, October 7, was related to the continuing stock theft in the OR Tambo region.
The ten people who were shot were members of the Community Policing Forum (CPF). The information was revealed by the Deputy Director General in the Office of the Premier, Mahlubanidle Qwase. He was speaking at a media briefing called by Kumkani Mhlontlo Local Municipality on Wednesday, October 9.
“We are confident that arrests will be made soon. Information is readily available on issues that happened before the incident. It is all because of stock theft. There have been a number of killings even before this one. The OR Tambo district has a lot of stock theft, including parts of the Chris Hani district such as Ngcobo,” Qwase said.
Shifting his focus to the preparations for the funeral, Qwase said the provincial government had agreed to have a prayer service in the area. “The prayer service will serve as a platform to help the families heal and to raise awareness among the people about the role of the community in fighting crime. The state of affairs in various households is bleak. Work streams have been set up to start work and various departments are on site,” he said. The Department of Human Settlements would provide temporary shelters to ensure a conducive environment for the funeral. “We also need to focus on post-funeral interventions and find sustainable solutions and support,” Qwase said.
Mayor Mbulelo Jara said the affected families were from poor backgrounds and would need assistance towards the expenses of the funerals. He said the municipality had received family profiles from the Department of Social Development. “Some of the homesteads don’t have proper shelters. Social Development is preparing food parcels while Human Settlements is preparing temporary shelters. We can see the intergovernmental approach working and we want to bury these martyrs in a dignified send-off. These are our heroes because they died helping the police fight crime,” Jara said. The deceased were identified as breadwinners who relied on piece jobs to provide for their families. “We are also making calls for intervention from the private sector and non-governmental organisations for assistance towards the funeral arrangement expenses,” he said.
